Spoken poetry is one of those things where if someone is good at it, they have the power to change the atmosphere of a room in a second, make the audience feel as strongly as they're feeling, break their hearts or make them laugh. Part of what makes spoken poetry so great is that actually seeing and hearing the poet performing their own work adds to the power and meaning of the poem, thereby enhancing the audience's understanding of it. It allows the audience to feel with the person that's up on that stage, and it makes poetry much less of an individual experience and more of a collective one. Here are three poets that have this power and a poem of theirs that I believe everyone should hear at least once.

1. Sam Sax - "Heavy Petting"

Sam Sax just has a way with words. His lines flow effortlessly and he knows how to use sound to evoke emotions with the audience. In "Heavy Petting," he reflects on certain words, their usage and how well their sound describes what they mean to reveal a darker truth. It starts out funny, but watch out for the sudden drop in mood.

2. Neil Hilborn - "OCD"

If you are at all into spoken poetry and still haven't heard this one, you've been missing out. I came across this video at random a few years ago, and it's pretty much the reason I got into spoken poetry in the first place. Neil exemplifies how spoken word poets have the opportunity to use their voice and rhythm to affect the impact of their poem, and his take on mental illness and love is absolutely beautiful. This is definitely one of those poems that gave me a new understanding of a perspective that is not my own, and it's safe to say that it will evoke feelings in the audience.

3. Patrick Roche - "21"

The structure of this poem is genius. Patrick starts at the age of 21 and counts backwards in age, and the way his character changes with his age is what makes this poem so effective. What he doesn't say is almost just as powerful as what he says, and the poem gets more heartbreaking with each new number.