IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

'Riverdale' star Lili Reinhart shares moving poem after Luke Perry's death

The 22-year-old actress paid tribute to her co-star, who died Monday.
/ Source: TODAY

“Riverdale” star Lili Reinhart is grieving the death of her co-star Luke Perry.

The 22-year-old actress shared an emotional poem in her Instagram Stories on Monday, just hours after Perry died at age 52 after suffering a massive stroke last week.

Luke Perry and Lili Reinhart
Reinhart wrote a heartfelt poem in honor of her late co-star.Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBC

“It's strange to see the world move on. When someone you love, gets taken from you. And the small circumference surrounding you is stuck. Frozen in a moment. Of loss. And shock. Yet the people passing you are moving at full speed. Did they not feel the earth shake? Or slow? Can they hear the thoughts screaming in my head? His name. His face. Memories. Flashes. Of a friend. A lost friend,” Reinhart's heartfelt poem began.

She continued, “We always expect the earth to stand still. For the universe to grieve the loved ones we have lost, along with us. But it keeps moving. Maybe as a sign that we should too. The movement of strangers, like a wave taking us with them.”

Reinhart ended her poem with a wish: that Perry's spirit could move “in tandem” with those he left behind.

“So we ebb and flow with the passage of others, coasting off their energy and conserving our own. Because it’s too hard to give anything right now. To anyone. Except for him. The one we’ve lost,” the actress wrote. “And I pray that he’s silently moving in tandem with us. Guiding us through the waves even when we can’t swim.”

Reinhart plays Betty Cooper on the popular CW series, which is based on the characters in Archie Comics. Perry played Fred Andrews, father to Betty's friend and neighbor, Archie (KJ Apa).

Earlier on Monday, the actress expressed shock after learning that Perry was gone.

“I’m finding it hard to grasp that he will no longer be around to give long hugs and share his wisdom and kindness with all of us,” she tweeted. “I’m thinking of his family. His children. I pray for them to heal and find peace in this devastating loss.”

“I just can’t believe it,” she added moments later.

Though Perry was most famous for his role as sensitive bad boy Dylan McKay on the Fox teen drama “Beverly Hills, 90210,” he earned raves for his “Riverdale” performance and was beloved among cast members.

On Monday, the show's writers called Perry “a joyful and vibrant soul.”

“You will be missed but most certainly your legacy will be remembered forever,” they tweeted.

Molly Ringwald, who plays Perry's wife on the series, also shared her sadness.

“My heart is broken. I will miss you so much Luke Perry,” she wrote.