From the moment
I realized I was better than my Dad
At basketball and poetry,
I knew one thing was real:
I fell in love with me.
When I looked into a mirror,
I never saw a reflection.
I only saw the Greatest of All Time.
I only saw Kobe.
I watched me sweat and hustle,
Glisten with intensity
As the game went to commercial,
And then watched me in that commercial.
Not because the Challenge called me,
But because I called me.
I did everything for ME.
My dreams of watching me be a Laker came true,
And I’ll never stop loving me for winning
All those championships.
But lately, I don’t like what I’m seeing.
The non-game-winning shots,
The refs’ whistles silent
As I flail down the lane.
My fade away that seems to be
Fading away.
That’s not the me I fell in love with.
And that’s OK.
The show is over,
But the credits are rolling
And every name that rolls by is mine.
It’s time to savor every moment I have with me
And just remember how great I was.
No matter what I do next,
I’ll always be that kid
Watching me with reverence.
Wanting nothing more
Than to be
Just like me.
-KB 2015