Kurt Philip Behm

Our Presents Lay (+4)

What determines genius…

an endowment or a choice

 

Is there destiny in all of us,

waiting for a voice

 

Is to reject your epiphany,

most used as an excuse

 

By those who pull the shades down low,

the darkness theirs to choose

 

Was Van Gogh so enlightened,

when he cut off his left ear

 

Or Joplin ever doubtful,

when she sang beyond her fear

 

Is genius so misunderstood,

its meaning false portrayed

 

That we see gifts in others

—as we let our presents lay

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2017)

 

 

Doubt Betrayed

 

Is it in the heart

Or in the eyes

For all you see

To then despise

Is it anger first

Or love at last

Can you judge the future

By the past

Does the meaning change

With every choice

Your words return

Another\'s voice

Last wish you make

One vow to pray

Your vision strikes

—all doubt betrayed

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2017)

 

 

Eternity Unknown

 

Did you try to take it with you,

did you really think you could

 

Did your journey end abruptly,

as you never thought it would

 

Are those things that you acquired,

much of comfort to you now

 

Are those dreams left uninspired,

parked on someone else’s cloud

 

Did you once just say “I’m sorry,”

for those things you didn’t do

 

Did you weep in fearful moments,

for those things you wished you knew

 

Was your lack of all contrition,

what’s now written on your stone

 

Is your map unmarked and barren

—all eternity unknown

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2017)

 

 

 

Water From Ice

 

A spinner of poetry,

a weaver of prose

 

A seeker of truth,

or deceiver of both

 

Will verse be in conflict,

with chapter’s unrhymed

 

Can the feeling’s transfer,

is there likeness in kind

 

Will I always remember,

which prayer I must pray

 

Does the magic get lost,

if the wheat’s in the hay

 

Can I capture this moment,

be it virtue or vice

 

In my verse or a novel

—drawing water from ice

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2017)

 

 

Renewed Wishes

 

Blue skies glisten,

the morning sun kisses

 

A Robin announcing

the day

 

The sweetness of spring,

to all lovers it brings

 

Renewed wishes

—the fresh promise of May

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2017)