The False Panacea

Kurt Philip Behm

Selling the sizzle

and not the steak

Milking a lie

universities take

 

In debt-ridden wastelands

they prey on our youth

With worthless diplomas

— that mortgage untruth

 

*****

 

Whims That Betray

 

He sobs false remission

to skirt admonition

as his Guardian Angel

smiles ...

 

“What’s with the tears

after so many years

and choices rejecting

denial

 

“You did what you pleased

without Heaven appeased

and lay prostrate

feigning regret

 

“This game isn’t played

at the whims of betrayal

And called you must pay

— for what tears can’t correct”

 

*****

 

Love Centered Circle

 

The things that I’ll miss

are the things I looked past

Those small hidden moments

in memory that last

 

Giving up little

to chase what had burned

Distracted I forayed

the magic unlearned

 

Now distant a loner

I look for those tracks

I made through greed’s sand

to find my way back

 

Because there in the center

holding all that we give

A love centered circle

— where joyousness lives

 

(Dreamsleep: June, 2026)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments +

Comments3

  • Tristan Robert Lange

    Kurt, this hit me hard. The third piece especially landed for me. The older I get, the more I realize it is often the overlooked moments that end up carrying the most weight in memory. Powerful work, my friend. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦‍⬛

  • sorenbarrett

    Of the trio I due to my past exposure to school set on the first. I look at it this way I paid thousands of dollars to learn one thing that there is no truth for it constantly changes.

  • Kurt Philip Behm

    Im a product of the old University System, where all points of view were respected. Ive lived across the street from Villanova University my entire life and watched it morph into a politically correct blast of hot air. What's worse is, that with the exception of the engineering and nursing schools, what they teach and charge almost 100k a year for is worthless. Ive hired many MBA's over the years and they all had to be trained on the job starting at ground zero. I always preferred someone with no business 'education' so I could train them myself. A.I. is going to stick a dagger into the heart of so-called higher education. If you can get the #1 authority in every field, lets say, Stephen Hawking in theoretical physics to teach a class and have it available on-line where every willing student could access it for free — I think we're looking at the future. Id rather learn entrepreneurship from Elon Musk than from some wannabee hack that's never been outside the ivory covered walls. Ok, rant over ...



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