#chesterbennington
Dear Chester,
This letter, even though you will never see it, is a thank you letter.
When I saw the news today of your death, my world turned upside down. I was shaking, crying, barely able to breathe. I was so shocked to see your name in a headline alongside the words “Dead” and “Suicide”. I didn’t believe I for a while, because I’d also seen the article about your death being a hoax, but then I saw Mike’s tweet, and the news stories on NY Times and Washington Post, and I realized - it was true. My greatest inspiration was gone.
I can’t really pinpoint when you became such an inspiration to me. I started listening to Linkin Park when I was in seventh or eighth grade, after my mom put the Twilight soundtrack on my iPod shuffle and I heard Leave Out All the Rest. LOATR soon became my favorite song, and it still is six years later. I started listening to LP religiously after Living Things came out. I fell in love with the raw emotions of Meteora, and the clean energy of Living Things; the eager buzz of Hybrid Theory and the simple but true sound of Minutes to Midnight. A Thousand Suns completely blew my mind.
As I started to learn more about the band, I also learned more about you. I found out that you had a rough life growing up, struggling with ****** abuse as a kid, and drugs and alcohol as a teen and young adult. Depression tormented you your whole life. But you drew strength from those experiences, and became this amazing badass with a big heart who would do anything for his friends and family. You didn’t stop shows because of a broken arm, or cancel tours because a spider bit you in the *** and even when you did have to end a tour because of a broken leg, you came right back as soon as you were able to give us the show we’d been waiting for.
You never failed to show your love for your fans, your family, or your fellow band members and musicians, and we all noticed and loved that.
I admired your dedication to the people around you, and how tough you always were, and how you stayed so strong and kept such a big smile on your face. Your amazing singing voice kept me going through the standard teenage angst phase that is high school.
For a long time, a huge dream of mine has been to see Linkin Park live, to see you and Mike and Brad and Phoenix and Rob and Joe on stage, playing all of my favorite songs. An even bigger but less likely dream was to actually meet you, hug you, and say, “Thank you.”
It breaks my heart to realize that now, that will never happen. You’re gone. Your beautiful voice can now only be heard in recordings, your grin now only seen in videos and photographs.
I still can’t fully believe that you’re gone.
And even though your death was one that seems to leave no hope, you still are and always will be an inspiration to me.
Thank you, Chester.
I know that you will never see this, but thank you.
Rock on forever,
Sky
Jul 21, 2017
Jul 21, 2017 at 1:40 AM UTC
In the darkness
A silent voice etches
Temptation into a subconscious mind
In the thoughtlessness
Festers unspoken truths and
Stolen innocence
On the surface
A fragile
Production of wellness
In the void
Derelict fragments
Of Will were sustained
Until the day
A friend was lost
And you lost your way
Aug 11, 2017
Aug 11, 2017 at 12:24 AM UTC
An angel was born,
On this very day,
But before his time,
He was taken away,
With his beautiful voice,
He would always serenade,
Crawling, Heavy,
Final Masquerade,
These among many,
Were anthems that he sang,
For which he is remembered,
And which he sings in heaven again.
Mar 20, 2018
Mar 20, 2018 at 8:26 PM UTC
if only the world was as beautiful as the sound of these music,
oh, how peaceful we would be- just how lovely,
if only the expression of heart break in songs makes the pain easier,
singers won't take their own life- yes they'll become happy;
do they sing those words, screaming for help, for help from us?
all we do is dance, reminisce, criticize and fantasize for the satisfaction of our souls;
many have come, many have gone, their carcasses lying in graves,
yeah, some fans cry while others criticize as if mockery is their only goal;
if i was your lover, would you have died on me?
if i was your friend, could i have been of help?
maybe yes, maybe not or maybe you'll still think that dying would set you free;
or maybe yes, maybe not, maybe i would inspire you to make one more living step;
if only love could be as true as the love songs we hear,
we would be watching the sunset with the type of lovers we always desired;
if only, yes if only we had one more chance to make it right,
maybe we would go back to that high school boy or girl whose sincere love we defiled;
i wish that the world is as beautiful as these songs i hear,
i wish that we could all be happy and that our race wouldn't matter;
will there be a day when we will make living less complicated for one another?
so that in the end, when these songs play, our troubles would truly be over.
Jan 15, 2018
Jan 15, 2018 at 8:36 AM UTC
Your skin they Unzip,
your body they Evacuate
themselves they Force
their thoughts they Shove.
They control your mouth
to shoot words about a cause;
they CLAIM they Know!
With your Blood,
they'll wipe two stripes
on their cheeks,
ready for marching the streets!
Shouting loud
about pain and grief.
Clueless they are -
how Foggy it can be.
Step by step,
in your tight skin,
they marched ignorantly -
Thinking freedom
they had to snap;
"Snap out" of the inches
they invaded -
in the name of relating.
Not knowing,
what it takes to talk that Talk.
A mile in your skin they thought they can Walk -
Your SUFFERING;
they couldn't hold
out of your skin -
COWARDLY they withdraw...
Jul 24, 2017
Jul 24, 2017 at 9:23 AM UTC
I'm heartbroken over the news of Chester Bennington's suicide. He's been my inspiration for years. You will be missed, Chazzy Chaz. <3
Jul 20, 2017
Jul 20, 2017 at 7:08 PM UTC
A year ago, we lost a voice,
the voice of broken souls.
We lost a man
who gave his heart
again and again and again.
We lost a soul
who was fighting too many demons,
who refused to let darkness destroy him,
we lost a man who lost a war.
On July 20, we remember Chester Bennington,
whose voice has resonated with millions.
We hear the music and we cry,
we watch his antics and laugh with tears in our eyes.
We remember his kind heart and determination,
and carry that spirit in us with every warm gesture we make.
Rock in Peace, Chester. We miss you.
Jul 21, 2018
Jul 21, 2018 at 2:27 PM UTC