Poem for Jaymeson

It pierced your heart continuously
Until the pain seemed normal,
But numbness never came.

It blinded your eyes
From the vision of the future
And the hope residing there.

It chilled your bones so completely
That the warmth of others
Could not persist.

They might say
The cause of death is weakness,
But weakness doesn't burn away hatred with flames of love.
Weakness doesn't persevere through raw fingers and broken toes.
Weakness doesn't create joy in the face of utter darkness.

This was not some passing shadow.
This was the malignant manifestation
Of something that stirs within us all.

If a young heart is open, it can be infiltrated,
And a bright soul's light attracts demons.

They might say
The cause of death was the fall,
But the demons know better.

We will choose to remember the smirking, shimmering truth of You,
Not the lie of darkness.
And we will breathe until we can do so without weeping.