Video Inspiration: Gregory Porter + Pierre Bennu

This isn't my usual Hip Hop-inspired story. But, I loved this song and this video so much that I felt it deserved a "breaking the rules" moment. Initially, as most of my stories, I wanted this short story to have a death in it and the video certainly gave me room to play with that. But after watching it about 157 times, I was struck by something more than death. Loneliness. To live with that is much worse.

Gregory Porter is a jazz vocalist and songwriter. He was a promising football player in high school until a shoulder injury ended that hope. It was his mother's wish that he fulfilled his passion for singing and so that became his backup plan, right after her death.
Although he released his latest, third album, Liquid Spirit, in September 2013, this song "Be Good (Lion's Song)" is from his second album, Be Good. I know I'm behind on the song's popularity but as I've said before - good music is good music, a good video is a good video. Time be damned.







He believed a rose was at its most beautiful when it dangled from a woman's hair, right over the arch of her eyebrow. Gloria was her name and such a rose was positioned ever so carefully in her jet-black curls. She was the most classy, humble and lively person that Ben had ever met. When he approached her that night, in Ray’s Boom Boom Room, and asked if she wanted to dance, even her rejection sounded like soft, melting butter. In front of her crowd of friends, she boldly told him that she didn’t want to dance with the likes of such a lion as he.

“What does that mean?” He asked sincerely. But she only turned her head. Ben walked back to the other side of the room, thinking, plotting of another way to win her over. He watched her intently, the way she gently sipped her drink, covered her mouth when she laughed, and the way her body swayed as she danced alone in the middle of the floor. Alone. Her movements were graceful but her face was empty. Ben knew she wasn’t content with being alone. That was his cue.

“What makes me a lion?” He asked genuinely, hoping she didn’t walk away. She forced back a smile and said that men like him are dangerous to women like her. They hurt. They caused pain on purpose. When he asked her how she could tell he was such a man, she simply replied that lions were made for cages, just to look at and delight but you dared not let them walk around, cause they might just bite. His heart ached as she left him for the other side of the room. He stood alone, lonely, for what seemed like a very long time. It pained him to watch her all over again and even more so not to try one last time.

“What is a rose? A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. A lion named Ben would love nothing more than to dance with you…if he could.” He said, pouring his heart into his hand and extending it. His nerves were frozen and he said a silent prayer. One more refusal would just about break him. But suddenly, he felt warmth. It was the touch of her hand melting into his. They glided across the dance floor, disappearing into one another and being content with entrapment.

"I think I like who I'm becoming..."

I've been away from this blog for a long time. Life had me distracted. But in the last few days, I felt that if I didn't get back on track with this part of my creative mind, I might lose it forever.

Random as it may be, I love this poem by Nikki Giovanni and while it explains a physical lover, right now, in my life, I see it as I'm in love with myself and I must say...I think I like who I'm becoming...

I wrote a good omelet...and ate
a hot poem... after loving you
Buttoned my car...and drove my
coat home...in the rain...
after loving you
I goed on red...and stopped on
green...floating somewhere in between...
being here and being there...
after loving you
I rolled my bed...turned down
my hair...slightly
confused but...I don't care...
Laid out my teeth...and gargled my
gown...then I stood
...and laid me down...
To sleep...
after loving you

- Nikki G.