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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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · Feb 2023
"And Yet It Moves"
Kurt Philip Behm Feb 2023
Reason
without evidence
Truth
without form

Burning
the ladder
Immune
from the scorn

Nuance
to sleepwalk
As reality
dreams

Proof
in the eye
Galileo
redeemed

(Dreamsleep: February, 2023)
109 · Oct 2022
Beyond The Waterhole
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2022
Wandering in the desert
profanity infused me
Each word like a scorpion
the curses on fire

The sand an abrasive
the cactus a warning
The sting of my words
—killing prophet and liar

(Dreamsleep: October, 2022)
109 · Oct 2016
No, No—Yes
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2016
No Conflict ------------------ No Contest
                          Nirvana

(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2016)
109 · Feb 2018
Transubstantiation
Kurt Philip Behm Feb 2018
When one man is cut
  —every man starts to bleed

When one man is healed
  —all men become as one

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2014)
109 · Sep 2019
Last Bell
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2019
Senses untamed,
spaces to reign

Bodies that die,
spirits to fly

Length or by width,
time is a myth

Dimension aground,
essence refound

Eyes looking forward,
eyes looking back

Eyes looking inward,
soul reattached

All that was spoken,
providence sings

Grand sublimation
—last bell to ring

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)
109 · Apr 2017
My Spoken Lord
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2017
Devoted to my writing,
  a prayer with every word

Faithful to each line I write,
  my verse—my spoken Lord

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)
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 · Jun 2018
Capstone Reversed
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2018
Where intellect ends,
  the spirit begins

Capstone reversing
—direction within

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2018)
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 · Sep 2022
Tribute To Albert
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2022
Without time
wonder stops
Questions flounder
barren crops

Without time
motion falls
Beginnings vacant
—endings stalled

(Dreamsleep: September, 2022)
109 · Feb 26
Footnotes
We all become
stories
at the end
of the day

The true
and the false
the black
and the grey

The plot lines
will vary
the ends
in due course

As history
remembers
with joy
— and remorse

(Dreamsleep: February, 2025)
109 · Nov 2018
The Moment Sustained
Kurt Philip Behm Nov 2018
Each verbal success
  leads to higher new ground

Where the words beck and call
  with a heavenly sound

The trail to my future
   fades into my past

As the gift they inspire
  —my present to last

(Grantham New Hampshire: March, 2015)
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 · Apr 2023
Deep Set
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2023
Experience is fleeting
—memories are forever

(Dreamsleep: April, 2023)
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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 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 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 · 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 · Jun 2024
Angst
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2024
Like quicksand ...
the harder you struggle
the deeper you sink

(Dreamsleep: June, 2024)
108 · Jan 2019
The Renter's Sin
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2019
Own that space
  you walk within

Show your face
  the same again

The facts will change
  the weather turn

But only deep
  within you’ll learn

To own that space
  you walk within

All fear delinquent
  —the renter’s sin!

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

(Dreamsleep: June, 2024)
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 · 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 · 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 · 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 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 · Aug 2019
The Wind To Know
Kurt Philip Behm Aug 2019
Lost in the miles, lost in the smiles,
the road calls out my name

Throttle in hand, a beckoning land,
no two days then the same

Direction unmapped, my nose to attack,
what’s never been before

Fate rides ahead, making my bed
—the wind to know for sure

(Limon Colorado: August, 2019)
108 · Dec 2022
Full Circle
Kurt Philip Behm Dec 2022
Mistake #1
not being heard

Mistake #2
explaining the words

Mistake #3
a phrase zero-sum

Mistake #4
mistake #1

(Dreamsleep: December, 2022)
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)
108 · Jun 2018
Do You?
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2018
Do you bore yourself?

Do you rent the space
You’re standing in
Owning nothing
But default?

Do you recycle words
Until their utterance fails
Mistrusting your ability
To judge what’s right?

Do you hedge your bets
Never going all in
For fear of losing the very thing
You haven’t got?

Do you count the days
As tedium destroys spontaneity
And all energy drains
From your lifeless form?

Do you bore yourself?

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)
108 · Dec 2016
Do You
Kurt Philip Behm Dec 2016
I believe I know,
—do you ?

(Chicago Illinois: July, 1977)
108 · Jun 2022
With Every Breath
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2022
It’s not about
your need to hear
but what I need to say

The words unbartered
spoken clean
released to have their way

They choose their own
intended path
in beelines of advance

To scent the air
with every breath
—beyond your circumstance

(Saint David’s Pennsylvania: June, 2022)
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)
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