I met some poets at a slam. Poetry here is different from poetry in Bosnia. I don't always understand it. Martina, a poet from Mostar, Bosnia will bridge the gap. Pin-drop quiet clutches the room.
Tension builds with gesture, expression and tone.
An ovation follows Martina to her seat near Jasmina. AND you BUY it. Laughs born of impeccable timing contrast with a young, breaking voice dealing with domestic violence. Mid-poem, a siren screams up nearby Van Ness Avenue. Met in the aisle by older poets, he uses his t-shirt to blot tears, the movement standing out because all other senses are drowned by the crowd's roar.