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Kurt Philip Behm Nov 2016
Lost,
  in what is still to be forgotten,
  —reawakening again

(Crazy Horse/On The Bike: 7:40 p.m. Yellowstone, June 17th, 1991)
Kurt Philip Behm Nov 2021
Standing hidden off to the side
naked and alone,
his aura too imposing,
his cover all but blown

A target of those dilettantes,
consummate poseurs,
his space they had surrounded
—his legend to procure

(The New Room: November, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2024
Basking
in tomorrow’s shadow
Transported
on yesterday’s whim
Open
to the moment’s calling
Born
again, again — and again

(Dreamsleep: January, 2024)
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2023
Continue to do
only positive things
Humanity’s outcome
your choices will bring
The darker the cloud
that brings on the rain
The fairer the meadow
—for Spring to reclaim

(Dreamsleep: September, 2023)
Kurt Philip Behm May 2017
“Messages,
   trapped in the wind

Words,
   burrow deeply within

Voices,
  emerge from the past

Memories,
  and dreams overcast”

Leaves fall,
  branches reach for the sky

Winter clouds gather,
  snow starts to fly

Furloughed—the seeds
  march distant and free

The season long,
  its transients flee

Vision impaired,
  past futures to fade

Acceptance—rejection,
  a choice to be made

The first Nightingale sings,
  its call from beyond

A feeling unfreezes,
  old words to a song

The hills begin thawing,
  new tracks to reveal

Salvation once promised,
  no longer concealed

Winds from the west,
   bring rebirth and enthrall

The sun melting lies,
  —and winter recalled

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2017)
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2020
The older I get,
the younger I become

Each word a rebirth
—my dreams to outrun

(Dreamsleep: January, 2020)
Kurt Philip Behm Aug 2022
To **** the dreamer
not the dream
Each wish reborn
—all hope redeemed

(The New Room: August, 2022)
Stuck to
myself
the glue starts
to lift
Exposing
my nature
a soul
frozen stiff

Letting
me go
the dermis
strips off
The sun
rushing in
melting
the frost

Open
to light
new Angels
take hold
Rebuilding
my past
the future
remolds

All dread in
the mirror
now turned to
the wall
My essence
unfrozen
and prescience
— rethawed

(The New Room: July, 2025)
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2021
You don’t have to abandon previous beliefs  
to embrace what presents to you now

As windows long open whose portals of light  
wrap around each new vision—enshroud

Those messages ancient and all messages new  
interlock like the fingers of God

The truth by dimension delivering you whole    
—new lightning reclaiming the rod

(Villanova University: January, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2018
The window open
  weathered and worn

My soul releases
  —spirit reborn

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2014)
Kurt Philip Behm Feb 2019
Is life about how many
  or then about how much

Is the truth in computation
  or in what those numbers touch

Is the measurement empiric
  with a final answer shown

Is salvation in the lyrics
  with the word count still unknown

Is there faith inside the mystery
  that mere reason can’t abide

Is there something deep inside you
  that excuses cannot hide

Is there a wind that blows indulgent
  carrying an echo from before

With a voice that speaks the loudest
  the one you listen to—reborn

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2018
Is life about how many
  or then about how much

Is the truth in computation
  or in what those numbers touch

Is the measurement empiric
  with a final answer shown

Is salvation in the lyrics
  with the word count still unknown

Is there faith inside the mystery
  that mere reason can’t abide

Is there something deep inside you
  that excuses cannot hide

Is there a wind that blows indulgent
  carrying an echo from before

With a voice that speaks the loudest
  the one you listen to—reborn

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2021
Running away from cancer,
chasing after health
Tomorrow in sight, beyond the twilight,
living—the greatest wealth

(St. David’s Pennsylvania: April, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2019
As my body stoops with age,
youth lulls upon the page

Where words forever young,
cry willful to be sung

As daylight quickly passed,
I greet night a friend at last

With memories deeply grained
—reborn in verse again

(Villanova Pennsylvania: December, 2016)
Kurt Philip Behm Mar 2020
With eyes that see and ears that hear,
but hearts that look away

Each child unkept—all life bereft,
to rue these mournful days

(Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia: March, 2020)
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2022
Fleeing into solitude
his excuses were lost
eyes pointing inward
embracing the cost

Intrepidly deeper
the cave to unmask
as demons and angels
are slayed in his path

Alone and rebirthing
both fury and rage
a hero emerges
rejecting the sage

Released from self-loathing
all ego begone
polarity crumbling
the right and the wrong

From out of the lake
of reflection to rise
a thunder triumphant
o’er truth and its lies

To wander eternal
in godlike refrain
old dogma retendered
—his spirit reclaimed

(Dreamsleep: September, 2022)
Kurt Philip Behm May 2024
And so it goes
from cradle to grave
From baby’s wail
to funeral laid

We reason, ponder,
dissent, and cry
As time repeats
and years go by

Sages offer
their grand excuse
In what’s left wanting
to feed the muse

But one thing’s certain
to never change
Death recycles
— the same old game

(The New Room: May, 2024)
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2019
Memory…
   the historic steroid
    —of an enlightened past

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)
Kurt Philip Behm Feb 2021
What is the human  
perception of time

If measurement stops
and clocks will not chime

Seconds to minutes,
minutes to hours

Pendulum still
—Big Ben disempowered

(Dreamsleep: February, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2018
Did you waste your life
  just making money

Did you eat the bread
  and not the honey

Did you sell your soul
  as your children watched

Was your heart left cold
  in a tinderbox

Were your excuses rich
  and your reasons poor

Did you wake up full
  and still ask for more

Were your blessings shunned
  as you scratched and clawed

Saying no harm done
  “I never broke the law”

Were you teeth all straightened
  and your motives bent

Were your eyes detached
  from what heaven sent

Were your memories lost
  in some dead refrain

As a lonely footnote
  to another’s name

If you had one chance
  to re-right these wrongs

Would you hide in silence
  or break out in song

With your soul imprisoned
  the choice is clear

All joy awaits
—redemption near

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2019
Did you waste your life
  just making money

Did you eat the bread
  and not the honey

Did you sell your soul
  as your children watched

Was your heart left cold
  in a tinderbox

Were your excuses rich
  and your reasons poor

Did you wake up full
  and still ask for more

Were your blessings shunned,
  as you scratched and clawed

Saying: “No harm done,
  I never broke the law”

Were your teeth all straightened
  and your motives bent

Were your eyes detached
  from what heaven sent

Were your memories lost
  in some dead refrain

As a lonely footnote
  to another’s name

If you had one chance
  to re-right these wrongs

Would you hide in silence
  or break out in song

With your soul imprisoned,
  the choice is clear

All joy awaits
  —redemption near

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2018
Bubbling up through the surface,
  one truth leaches out

Like a word long forbidden,
  oft whispered—it shouts

Rising up to the heavens,
  its message proclaims

“The eruption has started,
    redemption profaned”

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2018)
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2024
Forgiveness comes
to those who pray
Salvations ear
one plea away
The wishes sent
to Heaven stay
To mark the path
— and light the way

(1st Book Of Prayers: September, 2024)
Kurt Philip Behm Dec 2021
Dawning of clarity,
light in the fog
direction a savior,
our way through the bog

It shines like a beacon,
sirens ignored
our compass replotting
—toward heavenly shores

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Nov 2021
Darkness cometh before the storm,
  mistrals threaten,
caution scorned

Mercy lost in its ****** hail,
tempest raging
—hope assailed

(The New Room: November, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Feb 2018
He shed his ego
Like a snake letting go
Of its skin
And wandered into
The land of
Ill intention
And the darkness
It harbored inside

His mirror had been shattered
There—left on the ground
Pieces to reflect
What was missing before
Until one after one
Each bad wish was contained
Prismatic
—light reentering again

(Las Vegas Nevada: January, 2018)
Kurt Philip Behm Sep 2020
Pandering comments about
God,
self-defining

Imprinted and
wrong,
our limitations displayed

“God is not kind…
but
God is not unkind

“God is not wise…
but
God’s not unwise

“God is not just…
but
God is not unjust

“God is not present…
but
God truly is”

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2020)
Kurt Philip Behm Feb 2021
If a genius chooses not to embrace his gift,
will he live to endure deeper pain

If an artist doesn’t strive to create and unfold,
will she die in a chasm of chains

If a Prophet loses faith and abandons his path,
will he wander a desert unknown

If all lovers grow distant, away from the heart,
will the world lose its hope
—so alone

(The New Room: February, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Jun 2019
I abhor weakness
in all of its forms

My words gaining strength
through many a storm

Whether sleet in my face
or rudderless keel

This pledge I do anchor
—refusing to kneel

(Villanova Pennsylvania: December, 2016)
Kurt Philip Behm Jul 2017
Looming large in my absence,
  the silence screamed out my name

Present in my rejection
—refusing to play the game

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2014)
Kurt Philip Behm Dec 2023
Condensing
eternity
into one word
Imploding
time
—and verse

(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)
Kurt Philip Behm Mar 2022
Death indicts you
seasons past
prophets marking
spells recast
Life remortgaged
debt remains
time indentured
—hope reclaimed

(Dreamsleep: March, 2022)
Kurt Philip Behm Dec 2021
Spiritual commerce
Poetic lies
Phrases for sale
Proselytized
Prescience begins
Necessity ends
Words given freely
—tomorrow defends

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2019
Do you justify your own beliefs,
to force upon your will

Or skip instead the whole charade,
with truth left to distill

Do you wander aimless in the night,
in search of what you’ve lost

As darkened hallways call you back
—regret the only cost

(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2019)
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2023
You may conquer
on horseback
but to rule
must dismount
Pandora
lies waiting
new blood
for the fount

Napoleon
Attila
Augustus
afield
The vanquished
in chaos
till order
—congeals

(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)
Kurt Philip Behm Aug 2024
Knowledge of the future
memories of the past
Caught within a final vacuum
dissipating fast

Wanton disbelieving
eyes are liars still
Perception changed then rearranged
sensation thrice distilled

The philosophy of physics
logicians burn and melt
Time but smirks as gravity flirts
judgment prior dealt

Memories of the future
knowledge of the past
Once you slow the ebb and flow
— the moment is recast

(Dreamsleep: August, 2024)
Kurt Philip Behm Jul 2022
Making love to my memory
each tryst redefined
Perfection recaptured
reenvisioned sublime
Forever unwavering
all pain reconceived
The future rekindled  
—my heart’s reverie

(Dreamsleep: July, 2022)
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2019
The baser instincts
  within a higher calling
   —pain rewrapped in joy

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2019)
Kurt Philip Behm Nov 2020
Faith often hides
an idolatry within

Statutory mandate
—harbinger of sin

(The New Room: November, 2020)
Kurt Philip Behm Apr 2019
Writing in meter, ending in rhyme,
  the journey became clear
   —destination in mind

Writing in meter, ending in rhyme,
  my words tunneled inward
   —their meaning sublime

Writing in meter, ending in rhyme,
  free of the ramble
   —heartbeat aligned

Writing in meter, ending in rhyme,
   the feeling immortal
    —remembered in time

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
Kurt Philip Behm Jul 2021
Breathing in
the smell of your memory

My eyes gently close
—the fantasy real

(Dreamsleep: June, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2024
“If you spend half your time
trying to change human nature
You’ll spend the other half
being disappointed”

If you spend half your time
waiting for someone to love
You’ll spend the other half
waiting to die

If you spend half your time
questioning the truth in the answers
You’ll spend the other half
missing the point

If you spend half your time
following the tracks of another
You’ll spend the other half
— wondering why


(Dreamsleep: October, 2024)
Kurt Philip Behm Aug 2021
Riding a giant wave,
dancing with God
Running from the Devil
—to the edge of beyond

(Waimea Bay: February, 1963)
Walking South
on the beach
in front of Doral
I heard a woman sing ...
“If you put the man
back in romance
I’ll put the lay
back in lady”
Catching up to her
I asked
where she first
heard the song
She said: “It’s mine
do you like it?
It still
needs more work
I was hoping
this walk
would enchant
or inspire”
At the Fontainebleau
I said: “I do very much
Let me help you write
the second verse”

(Miami Beach: 1982)
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2024
Up your seconds
stretch every moment
Joy in the instant
— present sublime

(Harry’s Café: Rush Street, Chicago – Circa 1982)
Kurt Philip Behm Oct 2022
What would fame bring
what would it change
One iota of truth
the stoppage of rain

Living exposed
the arrows to sling
You know what you know
whether knave or a king

Accolades fall
slaps on the back
Stumble or stall
and your patron’s attack

Life in the shadows
freedom proclaimed
Famously absent
—yourself to ordain

(Dreamsleep: October, 2022)
Kurt Philip Behm Feb 2018
I was there for the sweet spots,
  you for all other times

I basked in its glory,
  while your sun cast the shine

I avoided attachment,
  as you rooted our tree

And in sorrowful guilt
—remorseful I grieve

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)
Kurt Philip Behm Dec 2021
The essence of wisdom
lies in simplicity
hiding in plain sight
—for eyes that can see

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)
Kurt Philip Behm Jan 2018
Destiny rises to claim the night
and orphans out the day

Adopting the silence within our fright
  —renamed in what we say



(Villanova Pennsylvania: December, 2017)
Kurt Philip Behm Mar 2018
Poetic verse, to praise or curse,
  its edge to save or wound

Now less than dear, on fewer ears,
   whose silence will entomb

A finer point, the words anoint,
  when fired both straight and true

Its arrows sharp, to hit the mark
  —the past again renewed

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2018)
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