PAN, thanks for posting. I would say it belongs here, spoken word is a performance art and the speaker here is for sure using poetry. He has some really great/witty/clever lines. Interestingly enough, after I did some research, today's spoken word originated from the poetry of the Harlem Renaissance.
So, I've decided to share a poem from one of the greats from that time. Langston Hughes is not a favorite of mine, but the following is pretty heavily anthologized. He does have a book of short stories, "The Ways of White Folks", which I happen to like very much.
Langston Hughes
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers"
I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
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Split the Lark-- and you'll find the Music - Emily Dickinson
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