Kurt Philip Behm

The Last Chant (+4)

The one answer left to me

 is captured in verse

 

Old roadmap destroyed

 old play unrehearsed

 

The light becomes blocked

 as it shines from without

 

Its story an old one

 its warmth left in doubt

 

The road to this moment

 paved over in verse

 

Its bedrock a question

 an inner rebirth

 

My eyes closing tightly

 the last chant has begun

 

Past-future in ruins

 as within—I become

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2018)

 

 

Poet

 

Prince without lineage

King without a throne

 

Master without servants

Lover of that unknown

 

Hearer of what’s unspoken

Seer of things divine

 

Lord among the jesters

Voice for all the mimes

 

Reason, when excuses falter

Questioner, when answers fail

 

Link between the seasons

 —first breath a baby wails

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)

 

 

Wanting Only To Rhyme

 

Before I could return to writing prose,

  verse took my pen by decree

 

Days fully structured and measured on end

  but tonight

    —words yearned to be free

 

The stories cerebral, their words bellicose

  new plots marching forward in time

 

With a story inscribed for others, not I,

  my true voice

      —wanting only to rhyme

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)

 

Another Look

 

Another day with a voice

 —one more glimpse into forever

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)

 

 

 

Hell Upon Earth

 

The livery on fire

  its horses set free

 

Misery beckons

  the future to bleed

 

The gates are broke open

  all streets painted red

 

Death has awakened

  life dragged from its bed

 

One bugle is left

  blowing perdition’s melee

 

All swords are unsheathed,

  terror sharpens dismay

 

Tomorrow unpromised

  today but a curse

 

The monster has cometh

  —a hell upon earth

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)