Kobe Bryant announced his retirement from basketball today–which you probably already know. This announcement doesn’t come as a surprise but the way he announced it does.
Through poetry. Yes, poetry. Some have called it a farewell letter, comparing it to Michael Jordan’s farewell letter. And while Kobe likely wrote this with that fact in mind, his “letter” takes the form of a poem. Which is clear because it is written in stanzas and uses rhyme and rhythm.
I’ve discussed the importance of poetry before, but one thing I haven’t gotten to yet–but will be exploring in this new blog series–is the automatic relevance poetry has in our world. By relevance, I don’t mean that poetry is still being written or that old poems have themes that transcend time (though both are true). No, what I mean to say is poetry creeps into our lives often and always. Whether you openly embrace poetry or keep it at arms length, it is here and it is here to stay.
The following is the first poem I will be analyzing in this Poetry x Pop Culture series, written by Kobe Bryant:
College In The Cornfield 