Kurt Philip Behm

Circa 1956 (+4)

When the world was small

my heroes were big

living on a 12’’ screen

the telephone operator knew me by name

when the party line was open and free

on Tuesdays it was the bread man

on Wednesdays came meat

Friday mornings the Fuller Brush man rang twice

Saturdays were baseball, bleacher seats for a buck

and on Sunday to church on my bike

when on Monday the Nun asked where the black eye was from

I smiled and said “ran into a door”

while all the while knowing this was the time of my life

—a time when the world was so small

 

(Conshohocken Pennsylvania: March, 2021)

 

 

 

Tandem Memoriam

 

When time overcomes memory,

and vision retracts

 

The past sits in judgment,

its verdict exact

 

With yesterday’s reason,

tomorrow to blame

 

All hope left in ashes

—truth mourning the flame

 

(Dreamsleep: March, 2021)

 

 

Till Death Do Us Part

 

I stole from myself,

never paying me back,

rich in the spoils of war

 

Identity gone,

the body count total

—larcenous guilt to endure

 

(The New Room: March, 2021)

 

 

 

Timor

 

Fear exposes the underside

of courage

 

The weakest point of strength

—a darker shade of truth

 

(Dreamsleep: March, 2021)

 

 

 

Inkubation

 

Your form is strong,

but your content weak

 

Desire flowing,

 experience meek

 

Trying to fake it

with meter and rhyme

 

Your words never ripen

—green apples in time

 

(Dream Sleep: March, 2021)