Slam poetry is an underrated art. Poets everywhere pour their hearts out in performances about topics such as mental illness, sexual assault, and just everyday heartbreak. I love slam poetry for it's ability to put pain into words and bring hearts together. I spend too much time online listening to slam poems, and here are nine poems I think everyone should hear.

1. "How To Succeed In Heartbreak'" by Victoria Morgan

"Kiss as many people as you need to get the stamp of his lips off of your brain, go to museums; realize other things have history too…"

This poem will go down as one of my favorite slam poems ever. It combines humor and blunt honesty in a way that will hit you right in the feels every time. One second you'll be laughing about Morgan's ability to compare swiping on Tinder to killing ants and the next second you'll be sobbing in your bedroom as you hear her describe the dreams that are no longer.

2. "Almosts" by Bianca Phipps

"I never told you that I loved you…you never told me that you were dying…five easy words that would’ve shattered our worlds…"

This poem will shatter your heart into pieces you will be unable to pick up. At first, you think it's just another heartbreak poem, until you realize it is cancer that pulls these two lovers apart forever. Phipps describes their relationship with such specific detail that it pains a beautiful picture and your heart breaks, too, knowing what tore these two apart.

3. "When Love Arrives" by Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye

"Love is not who you were expecting, love is not what 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 timezone. Maybe love is not ready for you. Maybe you are not ready for love. Maybe love just isn't the marrying type."

This poem will sooth the hearts of hopeless romantics everywhere. Sarah & Phil describe the loves they always imagined, and then they show the true reality of love...right down to the fact that love, in fact, shits. This poem is a classic that every slam poetry fan should hold close to their heart.

4. "OCD" by Neil Hilborn

"She told me that she shouldn't have let me get so attached to her; that this whole thing was a mistake, but...how can it be a mistake that I don't have to wash my hands after I touch her?"

If you have a Facebook, odds are you've seen this poem shared on your News Feed. And, for the right reasons. Hilborn discusses his OCD, and how he fell in love with a girl that was so beautiful he didn't have to wash his hands after touching her. He falls so in love with her and through his poem he shows just how much her leaving absolutely tore him apart.

5. "Fire Drill" by Kristen Jewel

"You don't realize it's poisoning you, suffocating you you just that you couldn't get your breath around them and that's so addicting."

Jewel does an excellent job of describing what it is like to be stuck in a toxic relationship, not realizing that this relationship is actually destroying you. Not only does she use poetic devices such as alliteration with such grace, but she also comes from a point of such heartbreak, such vulnerability, that it's heartbreakingly beautiful.

6. "People You May Know" by Kevin Kantor

"Facebook informs me that we have three mutual friends. Which is to say, that he is People You May Know. Which is to say that I am people you may know, and there are people that know, and people that don’t know."

I find this to be one of the greatest slam poems of all time. Kantor describes stumbling upon his rapist on Facebook and brings out the harsh reality of the rape culture we live in. Not only does this poem remind us that rape happens to men, but it also reminds us that those who commit rape walk right among us, are right there on our Facebook friend's list, right without us even realizing it.

7. "A Lot Like You" by Rudy Francisco

"The woman that I plan to marry will have champagne in her walk and I will get drunk on her footsteps."

Every woman dreams of meeting a guy who loves them as much as Francisco loves his future wife. This is the kind of love we all strive for, and Francisco's poem is one men everywhere will be reciting to their future wife.

8. "To The Boy I Would Have Lost My Virginity To" by Anna Binkovitz

"Letting someone else hold me has become letting someone else hold onto my vocal chords, the things I never said."

This is one of the poems that really turned me onto slam poetry and even to this day is something I listen to on repeat. Binkovitz discusses loosing her virginity and the reality of sex as a fat woman. This poem is full of lines that hit you right in places you didn't even know existed.

9. "Somewhere In America" by Belissa Escobedo, Zariya Allen, & Rihannon McGavin

"We are taught it is better to be silent than to make them uncomfortable."

These three ladies are the powerhouses our society deserves. They cover social issues such as rape, same-sex marriage, and racial inequality, sharing with us the things they never teach us about in school because of banned book lists or topics were just told to stay quiet about. I listened to this poem in my English class my senior year of high school and it's what opened my eyes to the power of poetry, and for that I'll be forever grateful.