Kurt Philip Behm

Forked Tongues

Not lying outright

is far from the truth

Hesitance vacuous

barren of fruit

 

What never gets said

deceitfulness hides

Stalking and preying

while buried inside

 

The pulpit a soapbox

 lectern a mask

Pontification

deceptions bombast

 

Wittingly fervent

the devil subverts

False implication

—the ultimate hurt

 

(Dreamsleep: February, 2023)