致我最愛的籃球

科比·布萊恩特

From the moment

I started rolling my dads tube socks

And shooting imaginary

Game-winning shots

In the Great Western Forum

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

As a six-year-old boy

Deeply in love with you

I never saw the end of the tunnel

I only saw myself

Running out of one

And so I ran.

I ran up and down every court

After every loose ball for you

You asked for my hustle

I gave you my heart

Because it came with so much more

I played through the sweat and hurt

Not because challenge called me

But because YOU called me

I did everything for YOU

Because thats what you do

When someone makes you feel as

Alive as youve made me feel

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream

And Ill always love you for it.

But I cant love you obsessively for much longer.

This season is all I have left to give.

My heart can take the pounding

My mind can handle the grind

But my body knows

Its time to say goodbye.

And thats OK.

Im ready to let you go.

I want you to know now

So we both can savor every moment

We have spent together.

The good and the bad.

We have given each other

All that we have.

And we both know,

No matter what I do next

Ill always be that kid

With the rolled up socks

Garbage can in the corner

:05 seconds on the clock

Ball in my hands.

5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Love you always,

Kobe

Vocabulary

soul? n. 靈魂；精神，精髓

sweat? n. 汗；汗水；滿身大汗

obsessively? adv. 著迷地；迷戀地

handle? v. 有能力應付；（成功地）處理

親愛的籃球

從小時候

我把老爸的直筒襪卷成球筐，假裝著

我在大西部論壇球館，投中致勝球的樣子

我就清楚地知道一件事情：我愛上你了

我愛你如此之深，已奉獻我的所有——

從我的思想到我的身體

從我的精神到我的靈魂

6歲的我，深深地愛著你

我從沒想過這段旅程結束時的樣子

我只看到我自己

在這條路上奔跑

所以我不停地跑

每場比賽我都不停地奔跑

為爭取每一次得到你的機會

你需要我拼盡全力

我為你奉上了我的心

因為這需要的不僅僅是盡力

我為打球流盡血汗、帶著一身傷病

不是因為困難在挑戰我

而是因為你在呼喚我

我已經為你做了一切

因為你也是這樣對待我

因為你讓我感覺

我自己是一個鮮活的人

你讓一個6歲的孩子實現了他的湖人夢

為此我將永遠愛你

但是我不能再如此迷戀你了

這個賽季是我所能給的僅有的

我的心還能繼續承受各種打擊

我的意志也還能繼續堅持下去

但我的身體讓我知道是時候說再見了

這也很好

我已經做好準備跟你說再見了

我現在只是想讓你知道

我們倆都可以永遠珍藏著彼此

一起度過的每一段時光

無論是好的，還是壞的

我們已經給了彼此

我們所能給的全部

我們倆都知道

接下來無論我去做什么

我都會是那個

穿著老爸的直筒襪

瞄準角落里的垃圾桶

假裝進攻時間還有5秒

手里拿著籃球的小孩

5秒、4秒、3秒、2秒、1秒

一直愛你的

科比