BEFORE he was gone in a flash, Kobe Bryant had crafted an earlier farewell.
Kobe said:
…I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with you
A love so deep I gave you my all
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul…
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart…
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body says it’s time to go
And that’s OK, I’m ready to let you go
Those lines were lifted from Kobe Bryant’s poem, “Dear Basketball,” which the NBA legend wrote in 2016 upon his retirement. It has been made into a short animated film, which won for Kobe an Oscar award in 2018.
Kobe said it’s OK, I’m ready to let you go.
Of course, it’s not OK.
The world was never ready to let him go.
Shaquille O’ Neal, Kobe’s dear friend and teammate at the Los Angeles Lakers, said he felt sick, very sick.
O’Neal could’ve spoken how the whole world felt.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say the whole world was heartbroken at the untimely demise of Kobe Bryant, after his helicopter crashed outside Los Angeles with his 13-year old daughter, Gianna, and seven others on board.
You asked for my hustle/ I gave you my heart
That, hands down, is the finest line.
There was also a standout tribute from the Associated Press that noted Kobe’s life and career was defined by obsessive dedication and endless hard work.
There’s no measuring the size of grief.
A petition for the NBA logo, featuring Jerry West, to be substituted by an image of Kobe Bryant, is being passed around.
The world can’t accept Kobe’s untimely demise.
He did say goodbye, but that will never be enough.
Kobe Bryant will live on and continue to inspire no matter what. INQ