Slam Poetry

Poetry for the soul

poetry

Slam

Preach it

Official Music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1roQTVj0Q8

Music: "Threnody" by Goldmund. 
- Written and performed by Igor Oro. 

LYRICS
As I stand on this street corner and watch these two roads meet i suddenly feel at peace
Maybe its because at my feet lies the intersection of two distinct paths merging at a point of vulnerability
Maybe because its a reminder of you and me, and the blissful bond we once shared
Without a care in the world, my arms wrapped around you to shelter you from the cold
Two souls kept warm by each others company 
Two hearts dancing in the rain playfully
Two minds with the same thing in mind, you want me to be yours and i want you to me mine
I don't know maybe i'm crazy 
Maybe time has finally out played me 
Maybe i've stopped seeing beauty in the little things
Maybe i've stopped appreciating the gift life brings 
Maybe i'm in over my head,
Or maybe i just miss the familiar contours of your body under the chalk white sheets of my bed
I don’t know, maybe this is normal
Maybe i stopped being myself after you left,
Maybe this is all a test
Maybe i failed and i couldn't clean up the mess
Maybe thats why the rain suddenly feels colder on my skin
Maybe thats why whenever i try to apologize i don’t know where to begin or where to end all these things that i typed up in my mind and i wanna tell you but i just cant bring myself to hit "send".
Maybe i fucked up and i won't admit it 
Maybe i'm a coward
Seems like i've got all the time in the world maybe i should do something about it
I mean, every minute feels like an hour
Maybe i'm a fool for distancing myself from you
Maybe thats why i couldn't admit i loved you
Because for some reason i couldn't accept that maybe, 
just maybe,
You might have loved me too.

<a href="https://theartistunion.com/tracks/b79b26" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download for free on The Artist Union</a>

"Maybe" - A Spoken Word Poem

Check out Jesse's awesome book at his website: http://bit.ly/1ij3uIp

Download the audio of this poem for FREE by clicking here: http://bit.ly/1nNHhCl

Performing during the Coaches Slam at the 2014 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational. Find out more about Jesse at http://www.jesseparent.com

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Jesse Parent - To the Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter

For anyone that's ever lost someone they've loved, in any sort of way. This poem is meant to be ambiguous; it will have different meanings for different people. 
- Inspired by, and featuring music from, the 1999 motion picture "American Beauty", directed by Sam Mendes. Written and performed by Igor Oro

<a href="https://theartistunion.com/tracks/b8a6ad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download for free on The Artist Union</a>

"Beauty" - A Spoken Word Poem

Ethan Smith - A Letter To The Girl I Used To Be

Repetition

Neil Hilborn - OCD

Dylan Garity - -Friend Zone- (Button Poetry First Readings)

I knew exactly what love looked like – in seventh grade

Even though I hadn’t met love yet, if love had wandered into my homeroom, I would’ve recognized him at first glance. Love wore a hemp necklace. 
I would’ve recognized her at first glance, love wore a tight french braid. 
Love played acoustic guitar and knew all my favorite Beatles songs.
Love wasn’t afraid to ride the bus with me. 
And I knew, I just must be searching the wrong classrooms, just must be checking the wrong hallways, she was there, I was sure of it. 
If only I could find him.

But when love finally showed up, she had a bow cut. 
He wore the same clothes every day for a week.
Love hated the bus. 
Love didn’t know anything about The Beatles. 
Instead, every time I try to kiss love, our teeth got in the way.
Love became the reason I lied to my parents. I’m going to- Ben’s house. 
Love had terrible rhythm on the dance floor, but made sure we never missed a slow song. 
Love waited by the phone because she knew if her father picked up it would be: “Hello? Hello? I guess they hung up.”

And love grew, stretched like a trampoline. 
Love changed. Love disappeared, 
Slowly, like baby teeth, losing parts of me I thought I needed. 
Love vanished like an amateur magician, and everyone could see the trapdoor but me. 
Like a flat tire, there were other places I planned on going, but my plans didn’t matter. 
Love stayed away for years, and when love finally reappeared, I barely recognized him. 
Love smelt different now, had darker eyes, a broader back, love came with freckles I didn’t recognize. 
New birthmarks, a softer voice. 
Now there were new sleeping patterns, new favorite books. 
Love had songs that reminded him of someone else, songs love didn’t like to listen to. So did I.

But we found a park bench that fit us perfectly
We found jokes that make us laugh. 
And now, love makes me fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies. 
But love will probably finish most of them for a midnight snack. 
Love looks great in lingerie but still likes to wear her retainer. 
Love is a terrible driver, but a great navigator. 
Love knows where she’s going, it just might take her two hours longer than she planned. 
Love is messier now, not as simple. 
Love uses the words “boobs” in front of my parents. 
Love chews too loud. 
Love leaves the cap off the toothpaste. 
Love uses smiley faces in her text messages. 
And turns out, love shits!

But love also cries. 
And love will tell you you are beautiful and mean it, over and over again. “You are beautiful.”
When you first wake up, “you are beautiful.” 
When you’ve just been crying, “you are beautiful.” 
When you don’t want to hear it, “you are beautiful.” 
When you don’t believe it, “you are beautiful.” 
When nobody else will tell you, “you are beautiful.” 
Love still thinks you are beautiful. 
But love is not perfect and will sometimes forget, when you need to hear it most, you are beautiful, do not forget this.

Love is not who you were expecting, love is not who you can predict. 
Maybe love is in New York City, already asleep;
You are in California, Australia, wide awake. 
Maybe love is always in the wrong time zone.
Maybe love is not ready for you. 
Maybe you are not ready for love. 
Maybe love just isn’t the marrying type. 
Maybe the next time you see love is twenty years after the divorce, love is older now, but just as beautiful as you remembered. 
Maybe love is only there for a month. 
Maybe love is there for every firework, every birthday party, every hospital visit. 
Maybe love stays- maybe love can’t. 
Maybe love shouldn’t.

Love arrives exactly when love is supposed to, 
And love leaves exactly when love must. 
When love arrives, say, “Welcome. Make yourself comfortable.”
If love leaves, ask her to leave the door open behind her. 
Turn off the music, listen to the quiet, whisper, 
“Thank you for stopping by.”


Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye -When Love Arrives (Poetry)

A story of  love gain and love lost will they meet again only God knows ....

Shihan  This Type Love

For the one that got away.
Written and performed by Igor Oro

(Music credit: Dustin O'halloran - "We move Lightly")

LYRICS
I've never had the chance, to tell you how beautiful you look in the moonlight 
how the rays of that starry night hit you in ways that words simply can't describe, but I'll still try. 
They make you seem alive, all that energy you have stirring inside, finds its way onto the surface and radiates from your skin in ways that make the sun look dim...by comparison. 
I've never had the chance to figure out your flaws - see, I don't care about your strengths because it's your weaknesses that make you worth it, it's your imperfections that make you perfect. 
I've never had the chance to wake you with soft kisses, to whisper secrets underneath bedsheets - never had the chance to sweep you off your feet and make you mine, I mean, if heartache were a prison... Lord knows I've done my time. 
I've never had the chance to lie beside you and feel your heart beat, to admire the divinity encapsulated from the top of your head to the soles of your feet - to fight off those endless waves of sleep - to struggle to keep my eyes open because I'm afraid if I close them, you won't be there when I wake up. 
Opening my eyes, you're nowhere in sight, thinking "god damn I'm such a fool.." 
Broken guitar strings make my heart sing out of tune - a distant memory of my past, it seems these words are as close as I'll get to you. 
Like, what am I supposed to do to get you to notice me? I'm right here, and I never left.. I'm just waiting for the day that you take my hand and we go away to a place that's devoid of time and space - where I can wake up each morning to the sight of your beautiful face, effortlessly crafted, immaculately spaced... I guess what they say in that song is true: God really must have spent a little more time on you.

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"Never Had the Chance" - A Spoken Word Poem

Denice Frohman - Dear Straight People

A Series Of Short Poems - Neil Hilborn

Bianca Phipps - Almosts (CUPSI 2014)

When Love Arrives - Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye

Rigged Game - Dylan Garity

The Future - Neil Hilborn

Justin: A Poem To Autism - Alyea Pierce

Future Tense - Neil Hilborn

Love - Neil Hilborn

When it comes to life, it's all about perspective. 

Written and performed by Igor Oro
Music Sample credit: "Do What You Are Doing", by Dexter Britain

LYRICS
One day I asked a blind man if he knew what colors were. He said, "Well, I've never seen them, but in my mind the colour yellow...feels like the warm rays of sunshine. The color green, I imagine, is what covers the soft carpet of grass in an empty meadow; the colour red must be the screech of sirens and horns, and I could have sworn that I felt the calm of blue in the waters of the Atlantic"

"You see, my friend", he added, "I may not have the gift of sight, but I am thankful to be spared the blackness that engulfs the world at night. Although I cannot distinguish dark from light, I can still tell wrong from right; I can hear hidden tones in music that most people cannot, I can dream of beauty from just the scent of a rose, I can feel the crisp droplets of rain on my skin, and unlike others, I can actually see the wind."

"Never feel bad for a blind man," he said finally; "for you see the world for what it is..while I see it for what it could be." 

<a href="https://theartistunion.com/tracks/58ca38" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download for free on The Artist Union</a>

"Thoughts of a Blind Man" - Inspirational Spoken Word Poetry

I Won't Write Your Obituary(Chloe Nelson)

I sort of look at this as a sequel to "In My Dreams" -not just because it also features a poem within a poem-, but because I feel like the theme is a progression from dreaming and reminiscing of the past, to living in the present. Enjoy!

- Written and performed by Igor Oro
Music Sample Credit: "Vladimir's Blues", composed by Max Richter

LYRICS
I loved the way the sun wrapped around you, like a dress woven from strands of light. 
I loved the way you stayed close to me, as we held hands walking the empty streets at night.
I loved the way your eyes glimmered with hope, like a diamond pulled from the earth and polished for the first time, or the way your smile could break through the eyes of the blind,
I loved your innocence, untainted by time and unbound by fate. I loved your curiosity, and how you were cautious enough to know what's at stake.

The only problem was, I was too used to heartbreak. I became best friends with disappointment and I lost my belief in fate. So familiar with bad timing, I was always at the wrong place, until I realized that I couldn't go on seeing you as just a friend; I got so good at telling lies that even I started to believe them.

So now I'm gonna put my heart on the line and speak from my soul to let you know that your touch...is really the only thing I can feel anymore. The glisten in your eyes, the only thing I can see anymore. I want to bring you close and whisper in your ear like lovers do, these soft spoken words weighed down heavy with truth:

"Because honestly, all I want to hold you as the sun goes down and not let go until it comes back up. I want to be that warm connection that you crave whenever you feel a certain touch, I want to be that rush of adrenaline that envelopes you as you get close enough to the climactic peak of a moment you've never felt before, that heavenly moment when you can't take it anymore, then i want to be the arms that you fall into as you slip into a peaceful sleep, relieved of all that tension; let your guard down, I'll be your wall of protection. I want to be the ship to steer you in the right direction, and if ever you should hit an iceberg and feel like you're about to drown, I'll be the cocoon of oxygen that surrounds you; breathe me into your dreams, i want to be the seams that bind all your emotions together, i want to be your fantasy, your idea of forever, i want to be the roof over your head to shelter you from the rough weather, I want to be the guy that sweeps you off your feet; I want to be the pair of eyes that you suddenly meet in a crowded place, i want to be the face of everything you've ever thought you didn't deserve, the voice of everything they said you couldn't achieve, because the truth is... you can be anything you dare to believe.

But most importantly, I want you to know that even though this love of ours might not have lasted, I would still walk with you to the end of the world...and then past it."

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I Won't Write Your Obituary(Chloe Nelson)

Alex Boone