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109 · Jun 2022
Last Words
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2022
Writing the final chapter…
the bells in the tower ring for me
Once for each phrase unwritten
twice for each grievance atoned

—as—

“Schoolchildren rise
pulling back the covers on the flowering meadow
Singing my words
blessing the fields as they run

“Memory half gone
released into the cradle of times rebirth
Taking what I gave
and leaving what I could not forgive

“The reasons, the seasons
melding together, flashing lost images
Redeeming their promise
christening new moments forever endowed

“Yesterday and tomorrow
I am free of their deception
My last words to stay hidden
—in the laughter of a child”

(The New Room: June, 2022)
109 · Mar 2021
All, Or Nothing At All
Kurt Philip Behm Mar 2021
I don’t limit who reads my verse,
only who I answer

Each word thick-skinned and armor-clad
all questions zero-sum

(To Nelson Riddle & Frank Sinatra: March, 2021)
109 · Sep 2022
Morning Left Waiting
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2022
I lost my shadow
in the hills of pain
and wandered in darkness
chasing in vain

I lost my shadow
the sun took flight
morning left waiting
adrift in the night

I lost my shadow
wolves distant howl
tracking my torment
whose grief I prowl

I lost my shadow
and then my name
connection severed
—myself to blame

(The New Room: September, 2022)
109 · Jul 2017
Hear Then Speak
Kurt Philip Behm Jul 2017
Hear,
Before speaking the words
Unwritten

Speak,
After writing the words
Unheard

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2014)
109 · Apr 2019
Heaven's Wings
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2019
Power…
  the father of choice

Emotion…
  the mother of love

Freedom…
  lost child of betrothal

Returning
  —on wings from above

(Richmond Virginia: April, 2019)
109 · Jul 2021
General Delivery
Kurt Philip Behm Jul 2021
The road taken,
a path unwalked,
direction unto fate

A choice is made,
the debt unpaid
—redemption coming late

(Dreamsleep: July, 2021)
109 · Jun 2018
Ink That Doesn't Run
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2018
Words in my fountain pen
   bullets in my gun

Blasts of rapid insight
  —ink that doesn’t run

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)
109 · Sep 2019
Discoursed
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2019
Better to slip through
than run over

Better to finesse
than to force

Better to persuade
than to dictate

Discretion
—all meaning discoursed

(Dreamsleep: September, 2019)
109 · Oct 2021
In Debt To Rene
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2021
Denying the soul…
all words are in vain
a verbal inherence
—spirit proclaims

(Dreamsleep: October, 2021)
109 · Mar 2024
In There Waiting
Kurt Philip Behm Mar 2024
Psychopath
Sociopath
Neuropath’s
remind

Every ‘path’
an open route
locked inside
our minds

Empathy
Antipathy
Pathological
liars

Waiting there
to mark the way
as circumstance
— requires

(The New Room: March, 2024)
109 · Apr 2017
No Candy This Year
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2017
The eggs had been colored,
  all scattered about

The baskets were hidden,
  the children now shout…

“Was he here mom, was he here?”
  they yell from upstairs

“Come down and find out,”
   she says—nary a care

Their little feet rush down,
   taking two steps at once

Wide eyes dart all over,
   playing their hunch

Living and dining rooms
  they tear with a fever

No corner is safe,
  from the incursion of either

“I found it, I found it,"
   the bigger one said

The smaller one saddened,
  their heart filled with dread

“The Bunny forgot,
  there's no candy this year”

From across the big room,
   the first start of a tear

“The Bunny never forgets,”
   their mother cried out

"You have to look harder,
   both inside and out”

And as the front door was opened,
  the little one chimed...

“Mom, he didn’t forget,
—it was here all the time”


(To My Grandchildren: Easter 2017)
109 · Apr 2024
Psalm 104
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2024
To stand in
Your shadow
its welcoming rim
Surrounding
my calling
to lead me within
Your aura
completes me
and lights up my way
To follow
undaunted
—Your love on display

(1st Book Of Prayers: April, 2024)
109 · Sep 2019
Courting Truth
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2019
Do you intimidate yourself…
If you do
You need to go back to work
Mining the fear
Destroying your ego
Intrepidation courting truth

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2019)
109 · Jun 2019
Reach Out With Your Spirit
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2019
You call it a particle
He calls it a wave
They call it energy
—I call it light

You’re locked in physics
He’s locked in quantum
They’re trapped in theory
—blocking all sight

Let go the dissection
Let go the mechanics
Let go the empirics
—your eyes then to see

Reach out for the music
Reach out for what’s timeless
Reach out with your spirit
—set yourself free

(Villanova University Monastery: June, 2019)
109 · Apr 2023
Deep Set
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2023
Experience is fleeting
—memories are forever

(Dreamsleep: April, 2023)
109 · May 20
Minus The Plus
“Handmaid of Patriarchy”  
the garden rezoned
Embattled virility
misogyny cloned
As Delilah revolts  
a new Samson on scene
One half of the whole
left to drown in the stream
Each genders new quotient
to minus the plus
A He without Her
— the destruction of us

(Saint David’s Pennsylvania: May, 2025)
109 · Apr 2019
Tears Of Pain
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2019
Those most desperate among us,
  must learn to cry alone

Themselves regained through tears of pain
  —to mark their pathway home

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2019)
109 · Sep 2019
The Reckoning
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2019
The vision intrudes,
stealing ink from my pen

A thief in the night,
leaving words that portend

A warning’s been given,
its mantle thrown down

But truth will write over
—what darkness avows

(Villanova Pennsylvania:  April, 2017)
109 · Apr 2023
Difference In Similarity
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2023
Hearing the word
speaking the word

Often quite different
—often the same

(Dreamsleep: March, 2023)
109 · Jan 2021
The Ends Of Infinity
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2021
Beyond permission
and the endowment tree
The wind blows constant,
it calls to me

Freedom is born
past entitlements whim
The ends of infinity
—knotting within

(Dreamsleep: January, 2021)
109 · Jun 2018
The Coma Of Denial
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2018
Choking on its wealth…
America now suffers
The Acid Reflux
Of a life at ease

Suffering poor health…
A country now drifting
Into the coma of denial
  —and no longer free

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)
109 · Jun 2017
Wild And Free
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2017
Do your writings age,
  like wine

Or turn to vinegar,
—left behind

Do your thoughts get
  old and gray

Or stay well muscled,
—youth in play

Is your will still yours
  to bend

Enslaved by nothing,
—sans pretense

Is there love upon
  your tree

There for the picking,
—wild and free

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2017)
109 · May 2019
Treasure The Silence
Kurt Philip Behm May 2019
Let the thoughts simmer,
  let the words breathe

Phrases gone fallow,
  passions reprieve

Leave the ink arid,
  keep the page clear

Treasure the silence
  —that only you hear

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2016)
108 · Jun 2018
Radiant Epiphany
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2018
The light burns brightest
  at journeys end

     “Radiant Epiphany
       Seraph's descend”

Its blaze to enrapture
  the love that you give

     “Celestial applause
       for a life well lived”

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)
108 · Jul 2017
Eyes—Heart
Kurt Philip Behm Jul 2017
What the eyes have not seen
—the heart cannot feel

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2017)
108 · Mar 2018
In Virtue I Sin
Kurt Philip Behm Mar 2018
It was Hemingway
  early

And Dickinson
   late

Those early
  exposures

The trail of
  my wake

No bar left
  unvisited

Or brawl left
  unfought

No school that could
   answer

Dialectic
  corrupt

Now this corner
  I sit in

Both welcomes
  and warms

And the thoughts
  it retriggers

No movement
  just form

I once had
  looked over

What I now look
  within

From this chair
  that I captain

Where in virtue
  —I sin

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)
108 · Jun 2024
Now
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2024
Now
A finer point
this very instant
all stars align
— the word

(Dreamsleep: June, 2024)
108 · Jul 2023
Born To Wander
Kurt Philip Behm Jul 2023
Rejected by parents
forsaken alone
One choice left to make
forever to roam  

The cost ever paying
their wages of sin
Steps of abandonment
traipsing within  

To beg or to borrow
the future on loan
The price of tomorrow
each moment unknown

With fate chasing after
both fortune and shame
A waif born to wander
—in search of a name

(Dreamsleep: July, 2023)
108 · Oct 2018
Myself, I Bring
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2018
Living in a rented room
  my thoughts became my own

Living in a rented room
  my borrowed soul was owned

Living in a rented room
  the fog began to lift

Living in a rented room
  my spirit set adrift

Living in a rented room
  the moment now the thing

Living in a rented room
  —to me, myself I bring

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2014)
108 · Jan 2022
The Bottom Line
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2022
If a million people read your work,
or possibly just one

What then will change, the numbers feign
—result still zero-sum

(The New Room: January, 2022)
108 · Apr 2019
Unbaptized Words
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2019
Certificate unsigned,
  pen firmly in hand

The bliss not for barter,
  its insight free-stands

Faith and acceptance
  may go where they please

To my grave and beyond,
  the verse teaches and frees

No savior I ask for,
  forgiveness I shun

Redemption for others,
  new ink on the run

Till one day uncovered,
  hidden deep on the shelf

A message unchristened,
   buried dark and unfelt

Where the voice I was gifted,
  and the music I heard

In themselves live forever
  —free unbaptized words

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
108 · Aug 2022
Motion Speaks
Kurt Philip Behm Aug 2022
Dancing on the fringes
waltzing through the fire
Tango once the step of choice
driven by desire

Life a dark flamenco
words to not intrude
Motion trumping conscious thought
—foxtrot interlude

(Dreamsleep: August, 2022)
108 · Mar 2021
Live Fire
Kurt Philip Behm Mar 2021
The voice of my enemy,
the loudest of truths

With death as the arbiter
—to win or to lose

(Dreamsleep: March, 2021)
108 · Dec 2016
Do You
Kurt Philip Behm Dec 2016
I believe I know,
—do you ?

(Chicago Illinois: July, 1977)
108 · Jun 2022
Beyond The Grave ?
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2022
Is anyone who's dead as great
as anyone still living
Is legacy stronger than force of will
within those still alive

Can what’s been done command the state
of promise still forthcoming
Is speaking loud beyond the grave
an edict best unheard

(The New Room: June, 2022)
Kurt Philip Behm Jul 2024
Chapter 18: The Fire Of The Unknown

For all of that day, they rode north through the grass and camped just east of Dupuyer, in the Butte Valley.

“Tomorrow, we will arrive at our home camp—just east of Browning—in the heart of the Blackfoot Piegan Reservation, Ichiban. I am sure that Stoneheart has arrived by now and has prepared the tribe for bad news regarding our disappearance.”

You Were Our Last Hope

“Hope springs eternal, Not-Many-Prisoners, when it is all you have left. With your help tomorrow, we will convince your People that the worst is behind us. The Blackfoot Piegan Nation will recapture its spirit, and we will unleash its fury upon the Siksika who have attacked in the dark and from behind.”

Not-Many-Prisoners liked the way Cutty used the words Us and We. “He is a man who goes beyond the smoke to the land of our Grandfathers,” he thought. “He has truly been sent from the great Kessuckquànd (Heaven), as the Old One has prophesied.”

With his saber and katana lying beside him, Cutty again offered thanks for being in the company of men with honor.

The Military Academy had been fine for what it was — “but a man’s true spirit could only be forged and replenished in the fire of the unknown.” He was once again at peace.

A Peace Only Proffered In Times of War



Chapter 19: The Backbone Of The World

Not-Many-Prisoners remained quiet during the long ride into the Blackfoot Piegan Camp. The reservation was located just east of the great mountains and stretched north to the Canadian border. Jimmy had told Cutty it was larger than the entire state of Delaware. “It is a big area for so few of us left,” Jimmy had said.

Cutty became overtaken by a feeling that he had not had since leaving Nepal. The grandeur of the mountains was filling his soul, and words again became useless in trying to describe their beauty. “No wonder the Indians fought so hard to preserve their homeland,” Cutty thought to himself. “Who wouldn’t rather die than leave this sacred place?”

As the sun disappeared behind the Livingston range, he could tell that Not-Many-Prisoners was worried. The Piegan Elder had been quiet all day, but when they passed a sign pointing toward Browning, he finally spoke: “We will be in Browning in less than an hour, Ichiban. Thirty minutes after that, we will enter the main camp of the Blackfoot Piegan Nation.”

Cutty wondered if he would be in trouble with The People for leaving Chief Stoneheart. He knew that Not-Many-Prisoners would have no say in the matter—even though he led the rustlers away from their small party. Cutty also knew that warrior societies had their own specific rules and regulations, and they often did not make sense to an outsider.

The Japanese Emperor had often told him: “Look not to the intellect for the truth you seek, My Son. Look instead—inside your heart—where fear is overcome by belief. Only there will you find the true warrior and the spirit and courage to win.”

As they passed through Browning, Cutty could feel the emptiness hidden in its dusty old streets. The buildings were drab, but more than that, there seemed to be an absence of life and a dispiritedness that hung over the town. It was nothing like any of those Tibetan towns that he rode through on his way to Kathmandu.

He Couldn’t Get Through Browning Quickly Enough

Passing the eastern border of the small town, Cutty began to hear drums in the distance. They were beating to a very slow cadence and seemed to dramatize the melancholy he already felt.

“They are the drums of sorrow, Ichiban. The People now fear we are dead, and their last hope of regaining the spirit of their Grandfathers has died with us. They will not believe what they see when we ride in through the dark.

“I would ask that you wait here, and let me ride in first to announce our presence. As you now know, proper introductions are very important to my People, and it is fitting that they hear of the things you have done before you arrive. Please rest here—by this small lake—I will be back by the time you have watered the horses.”

Not-Many-Prisoners dismounted and gave the reins of his horse to Cutty. Without another word he walked off into the darkness in the direction of the drums. It seemed like a long time had passed when Cutty heard the sound of the drums change. They now had a powerful energy, and he was sure their message (whatever it was) was reverberating off the great mountains to the west.

All At Once The Drums Stopped!

Cutty could hear voices, and lights seemed to be coming through the woods. It was then that he heard the voice of Stoneheart calling out to him from the trees ahead.

“Ichiban, the words of the Old One have come true. You are truly the savior of the Blackfoot Piegan People. Please enter our village as one who comes back to us—from before.”

Cutty had no idea what Stoneheart meant. “I’ve never been here before,” he said under his breath. “What could Jimmy have told them to make them greet me in this way?”

The lights ahead seemed to forge into one, and Cutty could see at least a hundred people walking his way carrying torches. They were also carrying something in their arms that he didn’t recognize.

“These are small offerings from the tribe in honor of your return,” said Stoneheart. “Not-Many-Prisoners told us about what you have done. It only adds to the stories that Lightfeather has already told about your many battles and triumphs. It has been a very long time since The Blackfoot Piegan Nation has been so honored by a visitor. Please allow us to formally welcome you again to our camp.”

Cutty was then offered a white horse to ride, but he insisted on walking with The People.
108 · Nov 2023
Fire & Ice
Kurt Philip Behm Nov 2023
My heart and mind have thought and felt together
with soul and spirit intertwined as one
And shaken from this sleep of dying embers
the words regifted wrapped in morning sun

Days both long and short have etched their meaning
onto the pages time does not subscribe
Each rise and fall the tide of love remaining
as seasons change—when fire and ice collide

(Dreamsleep: November, 2023)
108 · Jan 2022
Silent Thunder
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2022
Oftentimes, what doesn’t get said
—makes the loudest sound

(Hotel Majestic Saigon, Vietnam: January, 2014)
108 · Apr 2017
Oh
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2017
Oh
Oh, to draft just one
Oh, to say the words
Oh, to remake time
Oh, to once be heard
Oh, to write for you
Oh, to joyous be
Oh, to sing the meaning
Oh, to be set free

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)
108 · Mar 8
Affirmation
The day you
discover
that it’s you
who makes it all right
Is the day you
uncover
what destiny holds true
— and prophecy foretold

(Villanova University: March, 2025)
108 · Mar 2024
Tongue In Cheek
Kurt Philip Behm Mar 2024
Preaching to the choir
one more like will do
Beating the last dying horse
postings stay as new
I’ll read yours if you’ll read mine
lined up in the queue
I’ll say yes if you agree
— who is kidding who

(The New Room: March, 2024)
108 · Jul 2022
Darkening Moon
Kurt Philip Behm Jul 2022
Destiny looms despite my luck
its hunger cries and waits
As Vincent ran but couldn’t hide
—a prisoner of fate

(The New Room: July, 2022)
108 · Jun 6
Heard To Whisper
There’s a lingering shadow
that follows us all
Counting each breath
each step till we fall

Its pall ever darkens
while just out of reach
Its voice heard to whisper
through mountain and beach

It sees every moment
both joyous and sad
Recording our journey
the good and the bad

And then on that day
when our fate meets the end
Its arms wrap around us
— our very last friend

(The New Room: June, 2025)
108 · Nov 2016
In Its Wake
Kurt Philip Behm Nov 2016
The tide of redemption,
—catches all in its wake

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2016)
108 · Aug 2024
What If ...
Kurt Philip Behm Aug 2024
If there was no one
to believe
would there still
be truth

If there was no one
to tell
would it spoil
the fruit

If there was no one
to laugh
would the lights
come on

If there was no one
to love
would all feeling
— be gone

(Dreamsleep: August, 2024)
108 · Aug 2017
All Promise Was Gone
Kurt Philip Behm Aug 2017
For the lack of one letter,
  the word could not form

For the lack of one word,
  the entire sentence was gone

For the lack of one sentence,
  the paragraph went astray

For the lack of one paragraph,
  the page became dark

For the lack of one page,
  the chapter could not end

For the lack of one chapter,
  the book was now lost

For the lack of one book,
  its message unwritten

For the lack of one book
  —all promise was gone

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2014)
108 · Dec 2024
Dark Funding
Kurt Philip Behm Dec 2024
When you subsidize
my excess
You underwrite
my greed
Each payment made
my hunger craves
And gluttoned passion
— needs

(Dreamsleep: December, 2024)
108 · Dec 2023
The Images Churn
Kurt Philip Behm Dec 2023
Most of us learn
to live with our demons
Seeing them coming
hearing their call

More in the night
when silence is running
Taking their place
to hide in the hall

Most of us learn
to live with our fears
More real when imagined
the images churn

Once they’re inside us
denial forsaken
To wed the dark moments
—whose effigy’s burn

(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)
108 · Sep 2021
With The Dawn
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2021
Stepping out from under its shadow,
basking in the light

Morning returns what yesterday stole
—memory taking flight

(Kayenta Arizona: September, 2021)
108 · Apr 2024
If You Believe
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2024
What if you die
with no knowledge you’re dead
in the ground or the oven
no tears to be shed
What if you die
with the door closing tight
memoriam ended
devoid of the light

But what if you die
and a Voice filters through
a Voice you remember
from when you were new
And after you die
a Hand reaches down
pulling you back
— your soul Heaven bound

(1st Book Of Prayers: April, 2024)
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