Kurt Philip Behm

Life Reclaimed (+1)

Man is predestined

to destroy his world

Consciously damning

‘free choice’ unfurled

 

An apex predator

upon himself

No rhyme or reason

or logic dealt

 

Self-destruction

his stock in trade

His nature foreign

to all else made

 

Killing his brothers

killing his sons

Shakespeare prescient

of what’s to come

 

Time irreverent

he never learns

What sets him free

his folly spurns

 

The clock is running

the hour late

His words now toxic

and filled with hate

 

And when it’s over

but one thing changed

A new world order

—with life reclaimed

 

(Bryn Mawr College: June, 2023)

 

Unum Carmen

 

Too many good thoughts

so many bad poems

The bridge to forever

exacting its toll

Too many to count

just one to remember

As beauty releases

—redeeming the soul

 

(The New Room: June, 2023)