The Oprah Winfrey Network recently aired the documentary, “Louder Than a Bomb”. I was so excited about this film and feared that I was working it up to be so much more than it was. However, it was far more than I could have even imagined. In this documentary “Louder Than A Bomb”, viewers explored the story of four Chicago high school poetry teams as they prepared to compete in the world’s largest youth slam. The film itself captured the “turbulent lives of these unforgettable kids, exploring the ways writing shapes their world, and vice versa”.

I am FULLY aware that I am no poet. Yet I felt writing a poem was the best way to pay homage to the film and its impact on me. So please accept my apologizies in advance for the substandard prose and I only hope you give me a few kudos for the gesture.

So Much Louder Than a Bomb

Sitting back in life,
Just another day of observation.
Smiling unfamiliar faces with rhytmic tones.

As the players cross the screen,
My body begins to lean forward.
The sirens calling me to wake me and be present.

Awed by the piercing depth of their words.
The pain, the want, the hope are delicately woven with each syllable.
Completely captivated by the words which have been weighed down by the truth.

Their truth.

THIS is our history.
Amongst the words of those who are not afraid to speak.
THIS is our history.

And I fear not enough of it is being captured.

As the film closed and the bombs quieted

I sank back into my sofa. Into my world.
Releasing the energy within the moment.
But something held me and tugged.

I had been changed.
What I had seen was so much louder than a bomb.

What I had seen was LOUDER than life.

Yeah, I told you I wasn’t a poet. However, the poets you are about to hear will astonish you and leave you speechless. The clips below are poems from the film…from the poets featured in the film. These poems were all part of the documentary. So…find a quiet place, sit back and get ready to be both inspired and totally WOW’d.

“Poet Breathe Now” by Adam Gottlieb

“Apartment on Austin” by Nove Venerable

“LeBron James” by Nate Marshall