#Mambaforever

On the fateful day of January 26, 2020, the deaths of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant, and seven other passengers became eternally etched in our memories. Kobe Bryant was a giant. His unwavering endurance and grit captivated us and inspired us to be better. His loss is profound but his legacy will live forever. The beautiful words in the poem “When Great Trees Fall” by Maya Angelou eloquently describe the deep pain of losing someone but the gift that can come from grief.

When Great Trees Fall

By: Maya Angelou

When great trees fall,

rocks on distant hills shudder,

lions hunker down

in tall grasses,

and even elephants

lumber after safety.

When great trees fall

in forests,

small things recoil into silence,

their senses

eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,

the air around us becomes

light, rare, sterile.

We breathe, briefly.

Our eyes, briefly,

see with

a hurtful clarity.

Our memory, suddenly sharpened,

examines,

gnaws on kind words

unsaid,

promised walks

never taken.

Great souls die and

our reality, bound to

them, takes leave of us.

Our souls,

dependent upon their

nurture,

now shrink, wizened.

Our minds, formed

and informed by their

radiance, fall away.

We are not so much maddened

as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of

dark, cold

caves.

And when great souls die,

after a period peace blooms,

slowly and always

irregularly. Spaces fill

with a kind of

soothing electric vibration.

Our senses, restored, never

to be the same, whisper to us.

They existed. They existed.

We can be. Be and be

better. For they existed.