Dear Basketball

Dear Basketball,

I’ll never forget that day

All by myself out on that court

Your bumpy leather rolling on my soft four-year-old hands

The weight of you as I heaved you with all my might up into the air

That instant that you snapped the net

I knew it was love

A love so deep that I gave you my all-

From my mind and body

To my spirit and soul

And so I worked

I ran, shot, dribbled you constantly

Never leaving my side

Diving after every loose ball

Rebounding every missed shot

You asked for hustle

And I gave you my heart

Because it always came with so much more

I played through the blood, sweat, tears, and pain

Competition and challenge did not call me to give my all

YOU did

I did everything for YOU

Because that’s what you do

When someone makes you feel alive

As alive as you made me feel

I have learned not only about basketball

But also about the sport that we play called life

To never give up until that last buzzer sounds

To work hard when talent fails to work hard

Not be afraid of failure

But to always carry your head high

Because you never know when you’ll be called off that bench

You have made me into the person I am today

Strong, confident, and always going hard after life

Life’s challenges aren’t able to knock me down

Because I have been taught how to get back up

And go after it one hundred percent

This season is all I have to give

My heart can take the pounding

My mind can take the grind

But deep down by body knows that goodbye is coming

And it’s coming too fast

But I’m okay with that

I’m ready to let you go

I want you to know now

So we can savor the few moments that we will have together

The ups and downs

We have given each other

All that we have

But we both know that no matter what happens

We will always have each other

Maybe not the competition and level that we used to

But know that you will always be near me

Always close at hand

Just in case another game calls me