I've been meaning to post this poem, which I wrote on the tragic day that Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna left Earth together, along with their friends. As a parent, not even a basketball fan, this tragic news evoked my tears of empathy and words of compassion for the grieving families. Here are those words, as usual, in a poem:
Arrivals and Departures
(On the passing of Kobe And Gianna Bryant)
By Susan L. Lipson
They arrived separately,
almost three decades apart,
to begin their intersecting journeys,
to celebrate living.
They became celebrated themselves,
as they toured their destinations,
separately and together,
making memories and sharing dreams.
They departed together,
when Life rerouted them
into a detour to the Divine,
disrupting flight patterns,
cancelling plans,
and leaving their loved ones waiting at the gates,
forlorn and incredulous.
