Kurt Philip Behm

To Be (+1)

I said

what I had

to say

 

And did

what I had

to do

 

While asking

no one

to care

 

And seeking

nothing

from you

 

I went

where I had

to go

 

And saw

what I had

to see

 

To get

where I had

to get

 

And be

what I had

— to be

 

(Bryn Mawr College: June, 2025)

 

 

 

Orphan Of Love

 

The psychic tattoo

of paternity

darker than

fate’s blackest ink

 

The guilted knife

of maternity

cutting you

near to the brink

 

A prodigy alone

in the shadows

offspring of

scorn and disdain

 

Begging for love

and acceptance

from parents

— called heartache and pain

 

(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)