Sage48's Poems

If “Condemned To Be Free” as Sartre said, Then doom me forever —unchained and unled (Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The land of the free, the home of the brave Inclusive together —America saved (Valley Forge: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The final poem that I write… a comment on itself (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

It’s important what you get called has a name, one you can take to the ivory border It’s important what you’re called is remembered the same, today recollected tomorrow reordered A mark on the stone no longer unknown, your history and legacy re...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Alone with my thoughts —and the devil makes three (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Wrapped in surprise —the greatest gift of all (Villanova Chapel: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

You can feel, but no longer find the love Surrounding, no longer inside the love Remembering, you cannot forget the love Lingering, you wander in search —of love (Danville Pennsylvania: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The taste got sweeter as the bottle emptied Each sip more joyous —the label rare (St. David’s Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The coldest you will ever feel… a smile not returned (The New Room: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Fear is a mistress with many suitors Hapless in spirit —beguiling profane (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

A bevy of censures, to hit and strike back Each written reprisal to ward off attack A mother-son warning, once truant come true Her words now my weapons —to kill and renew (Beaupre: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

of a morning of a window singing freely /once heard of a longing of a distance in the memory /wayward of a darkness of a warning that prophetic /sojourned but a vow but a promise a betrothal /returned (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Out and back, its motion imprisons out and back, on an endless sea The ocean pulling both hard and wide the tides recalling —till setting you free (The New Room: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Grammar school speculators charlatan math trading the currency of borrowed youth optioning the investment in forsaken dreams hedging their futures with diminished returns margining interest —that will never compound (Radnor School Board: February...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The power in his words, the love in his eyes The truth in his heart —no time can disguise (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The cover pulled back, exposure full bore Protection gone —final judgment ensured (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Where do you go at the end of your dreams Where do you go when the daylight moves on Where do you go once your voice has run dry Where do you go —when tomorrow is gone (Pagosa Springs Colorado: July, 2019-Rewritten 2-23-2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

“Fire of my words… vanish like smoke into a raging sky Blanket forever the memory of my being” (Pine Ridge South Dakota: July, 2009)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Freeing the myth, begotten to dream Ramparts to crumble —Sorcerer’s scheme (Rosemont Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Buried reflection, pits of regret Reasons to wander, darkness forgets Images rising, blessed by the sun Timeless reversal —forgiveness begun (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

One may lose his honor —but it can never be taken from him (Pine Ridge South Dakota: July, 2009)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Drifting into the past, tomorrow slipped further away Drifting into the past, my writing had little to say Drifting into the past, the moments became moments no more Drifting into the past —being no longer certain or sure (Dreamsleep: February...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Life abhors a vacuum, writing hates it too So many questions, so much space, meat to fill the stew Emptiness is calling, for words to write the wrongs Where idle minds take up the space —left vacant for too long (Austin Park: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

For now, I want to see your face, and gaze into your eyes To hear your voice within my ears —I’ll text you when I die (Rosemont Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Killer of dreams —the moment says goodbye (Pine Ridge South Dakota: July, 2009)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

How do you balance the kind and the cruel The good and the bad of life’s golden rule As reason pulls tightly, treason pulls back Living in conflict, together intact Tragic, comedic, while often as both Angels and Demons commingle betrothed ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Let’s all just be average, no rich and no poor Excuses our quotient, single digits the score Masquerading as fairness, our heritage veiled In lock step we march, voices mute—nothing hailed (The New Room: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

If a genius chooses not to embrace his gift, will he live to endure deeper pain If an artist doesn’t strive to create and unfold, will she die in a chasm of chains If a Prophet loses faith and abandons his path, will he wander a desert unknown ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Ravagers of Poesy, spear points of denial Mongol hordes of fancied verse, spewing dense and vile Free words they herd together, to drive toward a cliff Trampled once they hit the ground —by verbal hippogriffs (Buffalo Jump-Sheridan Wyoming: J...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Owning the consequence of all that you do Intentions when pure, dark minds misconstrue When twisted and spun, then torn into shreds The words once pristine —denounced when misread (Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

If your courage lasted for just an instant Overriding your fear, all excuses behind If one choice you made could then reimagine A world once illusioned —stepping out of your dreams (The New Room: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

“Only those things not made less by division —are to be inherited” (The New Room: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Leave me alone, I’m deaf to your pleading Leave me alone, I can’t feel what you feel Leave me alone, my time not for owning Leave me alone, our history repealed Leave me alone, the bridges are burning Leave me alone, the entrance has closed ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Humanity + Divinity = Eternity (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

We are ill-served to give those who do nothing and know nothing —everything (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

We speak of truth, our souls delight, but actions prove us wrong If words alone could make it so —each day would end in song (University Of Pennsylvania: May, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The tyranny of modernity —aspiration enslaved (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The wolf demands what the shepherd can’t protect A busy hand helps the angry heart forget (Pine Ridge South Dakota: July, 2019) ‘To Mari Sandoz’

– by Kurt Philip Behm

All discovery —but one grand paradox (University Of Pennsylvania: May, 2020)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Hiding in their basement caves, the ‘journalists’ deride The light of facts and truth cast dim, a downward fatal slide Where once out in the open, clear vision far and wide Credibility buries deep —their fear a den of lies (The New Room: Febru...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The shape of my spirit, the weight of my soul To measure the longing of wishes unsold Tomorrow the color of yesterday’s stain The taste of each memory —this moment retains (University Of Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Silence… often the loudest voice of all (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Mesmerized by his own success, swimming naked and alone in the dark Drowning in what he forever professed, he rose and fell with each critic’s remark Hypnotized while diving for fame, he sank while caught in the tide His pleadings washed up, d...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

What is the human perception of time If measurement stops and clocks will not chime Seconds to minutes, minutes to hours Pendulum still —Big Ben disempowered (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Buried in the leaves of a Fall gone by, memories wait for Spring Entombed in hope as Winter reclaims, till birds return to sing Cold and dark, the seeds of change, lay dormant ill disposed Snow is falling, the wind blows hard, escape routes al...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

“Free speech for me, but not for thee” All bridges burned —an ashened dream (Dreamsleep: February, ‘Nat Hentoff’ 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

News to confirm, and not to inform A slap on the back, new patrons reborn To pander or slander, a partisan line No minds to be changed —their chorus reminds (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Science is a tool to skew the world, in form its weakness shows To measure, rate, and catalog, what in essence stays unknown I’m not against its formulas, but the philosophy it breeds Its laws to serve and fertilize —a deeper planted seed (To...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Reasoned emotion, the right and the wrong Obverted direction, both weak and both strong Impassioned, enlightened, the mind and the soul The moment on fire —humanity whole (Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Philosophy is not an act of discovery, but an act of creation the difference sublime Poetic verse is not conscripted but inspired, whose direction cries inward —its essence Divine (The New Room: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

A tempest swept in, transporting my thoughts The past to the future, and back to today Recapturing memories, beginning again Untimed reminiscence —the present relayed (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Any proof for God is oxymoronic God needs no testament, only man Not to be indicted, not to be confirmed Beyond all dialectic —God is (Bethlehem Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

I write for the diamonds, all quartz to be damned The populace deafened, and jaded demand That anything selfish, their wills to be pawned My jewels though not many —sparkle beyond (The New Room: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Identity is derivative of distance endowed Space the Grand Sultan, its winds to uncloud (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Is identity a reference to all that I’m not or something else again Is what I’m becoming and what I am in contrast clearly plain Or then is it more and crossing over to what I’ve not yet been The border amorphous where gravity pulls —to dance beyo...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Truth minus freedom —equals Academia (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The wound bleeds free —that kills the angry heart (From My Novel: 'Jumping Into The Darkness'- February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Shovel ready verse, new soil to disturb Whose well to make deeper —its draft future heard (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Being, becoming, though different the same All motion reflexive, where time rules the game Being, becoming, whose vow is enforced When married to both —refusing divorce (Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Living a life of isolation… writing became my friend Celebrating the day’s events, fresh names inside my pen Though others think me lonely, the truth is far from that Comrades made with each new word, in fiction and in fact But only to a writer ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Dancing with the devil. we waltzed across the floor Past the spot the band was playing, through the open door The darkness called to him by name, he answered with a smile And looked at me and said: “This way, damnations forked turnstile” With ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Time is a drug, both good and bad Infecting and curing, the happy sad Time is a stipend, to cash at will Its fund ever spending —to last until (The New Room: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Shifting into tomorrow, today passing through the exhaust The RPM’s marking time and space —direction all but lost (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Surfing the crest of a midsummer night’s dream, the waves became my friend Rising and falling in sets of remembrance —last break to never end (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

I refuse to remember what I can never forget Words lost to my memory lined deep with regret The faster I write, the deeper I hide A reckoning hovers —forgiveness denied (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The answer unquestioned… a circle begins The question unanswered, enlightenment wins The answer cries lonely, a tree with no bark The question roots deeper —new light from the dark (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Deception comes richly, new lies in its purse Old wolves on the mountaintop —Gideon’s curse (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

You could, but you can’t You would, though you won’t You did, then you didn’t You were —and you weren’t (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

A place though small enough to write, still big enough to dream My pen, a passport out of time, with phrases to redeem The North Wind calls, a purple sky, on wings my ear enchants And hears but one voice through the clouds —to make the letters ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Does your writing dance above the words or somewhere down below Do voices borrowed and feelings loaned, occlude your diction’s flow Do phrases couple and stanzas mesh, in new harmonic forms Does music waltz proudly from page to page —to score n...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Surrogate reality, divorced from what’s real The news on your cable, and movies conceal The brands that you purchase, the labels you wear Convince you of something, the ‘Emperor’ shares While consciously vacant, unconsciously lost The dew on ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

An eighty-buck hairdo, an eighty-year face The two now in conflict, all balance erased With age as a symbol to search and destroy All vanity coddled, to plunder and toy Bejeweled and bedangled, she limps from the chair Her stylist left smirki...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The question you didn’t have to ask… the only answer you need (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Truth is a question, all answers abstain Its dream open ended —wonderments gain (The Book Of Prayers: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

To what extent is reality persuadable Are the fence posts in concrete, the commas unknown Are the laws of existence as such, redefinable The axioms fluid —truth more than is shown (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Has evolution gotten bigger than God With Darwin the prophet, a wink and a nod Has almighty reason rechristened itself To worship false dogma —in spite of what’s felt (The New Room: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

In the beginning there were cold rocks with painted animals that chose which way you’d run toward or away from tomorrow’s undoing in search of what the present can’t find looking into the future with blind refusal at the corner of time and space t...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

While hidden deep from nature’s wrath, waiting in disguise Below the ground a season born, its birthright undenied As winter trees now bare their souls, whose limbs reach out in pain Tomorrow the most promised wish —till spring comes back again...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Told over and over, the lie became true As memory inverted, the falsehood imbued My cornerstone crumbling, sticks piled with straw A last self-deception —the fantasy law (Rosemont Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

If nothing can be done —do nothing (Dreamsleep: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

My Pen… an extension of my thoughts and my prayers, underlining my feelings for others to share The ink is my history its tracks to begin, a journey connecting what’s now —until then (Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

“I’ve come to the very end of myself,” the day cried out to the night “My expiration date lined in blood, tomorrow less than bright “My beginning and ending dancing a last waltz, destiny writing the score “My wick has burned down, the music has...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Death is a journey that’s taken alone Released from the tempus, our spirits to roam Death is a servant indentured to slave A Master beyond —new Angels at play (The Book Of Prayers: February, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Language has limits when backed to the wall Its truth self-defining by sages et al. Language deserts us as meaning retreats Its light self-diffusing —when destiny speaks (Villanova University: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Freedom comes packaged entrapped and confined How big is your cage, to roam and define Always constricted, with borders that move Its bars of detention —forever reproved (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

No one’s ever gone until forgotten Their memory etched like words in stone —canyons to remind (Chama New Mexico: January, 2019)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

They separate us by gender, and segregate by race They separate us by intellect, and isolate by taste They separate us by fortune, and detach us by fame They separate us by family, nepotism to blame They keep us divided through life ever long ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

They separate us by gender, and segregate by race They separate us by intellect, and isolate by taste They separate us by fortune, and detach us by fame They separate us by family, nepotism to blame They keep us divided through life ever long ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

My Pen My connection, My thoughts and My prayers My words My extension, My gift through My air My time My gestation, My daughters My sons My dreams My redemption, My river —that runs (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

My Pen My connection, My thoughts and My prayers My words My extension, My gift through My air My time My gestation, My daughters My sons My dreams My redemption, My river —that runs (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

My Pen My connection, My thoughts and My prayers My words My extension, My gift through My air My time My gestation, My daughters My sons My dreams My redemption, My river —that runs (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

When you find yourself sheltered in your own little corner, it’s time to move on When you find yourself buying what your echoes are selling, it’s time to be gone When you find yourself spinning in a circle redundant, it’s time to step out When ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The night brings solace, its darkness friend Forever now —forever then (The New Room: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

What is a man, what is a woman… solved by the stroke of a pen The genders now mix, the game has been fixed —playing fields only pretend (The New Room: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

I’m actually tired of being myself… can I be you for awhile I hide from the mirror and monogrammed lies, as I run from an image defiled I thought I was safe and had made my escape, when memory reminded again “You can run, you can hide, your ind...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The dead never get to say goodbye, as they charge across the line Finality left to those who live, still victimized by time The dead never get to say hello, a bust that’s now recast Their sacrifice a milepost —beyond the futurepast (Valley Forge...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

What purpose Poetry, if not to transcend The mundane, the broken, those roads with no end With every feeling new words are reborn To speak to Creation —and live readorned (The New Room: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Where do you go when your war has been won The enemy vanquished, the legion’s undone What do you do when your purpose is gone The feelings still burning, the will to fight strong Where do you go, the last battle adjourned The fields lined in ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The Pharisees vengeance, unleashing again To kill a ‘false’ prophet, their fear redescends The cross is made ready, like ages before The nails though still rusty, hammer deep and secure Their memories short sighted, rejecting the fact The la...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The pinnacle of abuse is preying on your own Jackal, politician, mercenary, or priest Their cloak of deception hiding unspoken lies Approaching your doorstep —in the guise of a friend (The New Room: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

We serve the moment, bespeaks the Lord To live eternal —in time untoward (The Book Of Prayers: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

While safe in my corner, so sure of myself I criticized everything, what’s thought and what’s felt Secure in the fantasy, my back to the wall Returns to diminish —the big to the small (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

I gave my heart to someone in the rain, the clouds exploding, witness to my vows The water carrying away each fervent wish —to stream in happy aqueducts of love (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Planted where I am, I watched you blossom in the field Time being what it is, I picked each moment that would yield Love that’s to be shared takes on new meaning as it sows Joy to spread and flower —beyond where limitation grows (The New Room:...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

I didn’t go far, but I went far enough I could have reached deeper, though finding so much I could have seen more, but my vision remains I could have hoped longer, though wishes retain I could have stood taller, but my back is still straight I c...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Everyone hates me eventually, so why don’t you do it now Saving us time, uncoupling the rhyme —your anger my presence endows (Martin’s Dam: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Lightly armed and uncommitted —the question always turns to why (Martha Brown’s Woods: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

What is… inherent, what’s not… implied Epiphanous moments —waiting inside (Bryn Mawr College: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Do you have to become what you observe to really understand To claim a new identity, your psyche contraband Must you pass straight through the mirror, reflections left behind To truly know what lies beyond —whose essence you must find (Bryn Ma...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

What you ask me to deny, I in many ways affirm The truth will not belie what your apprehension spurns Believing in myself and the voice that speaks within I cast new seeds into the air —and beckon the four winds (Haverford College: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

I shun the words you long to hear, my heart and spirit cry The votive candle burning down, its flame a dimming lie My pen to struggle against your will, and scribe the message owned That blood has drafted and pain rewrites —not borrowed nor the...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

With one pen in the inkwell, eternity got wet The words to dance and laugh and pray, phrasing’s still unmet With one pen in the inkwell, the future kissed the past The moments now, the moments then —Siamese at last (Haverford College: January,...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The immediacy of time, its reference untold The beginning repeating, not young—and not old (The New Room: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Spending the future, saving the past Tomorrow debentured —moments that last (The New Room: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The poorest among us only have money The richest endowed —with nothing but time (The New Room: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

In the currency of dreams —you can never make change (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Music can only be heard one way, words have a different refrain Melody imprisoned by note and score, what’s written when read apt to change The ear a prisoner to the composer’s delight, to listen—a captive within But reading the lines that ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The drums have restarted, the chanters proclaim The dancers with coup sticks in shadows remain The flames burn in tribute to death songs before Because only the dead —know the end of war (Radnor Pennsylvania: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

The lack of humanity drives zero-sum Away from each other a darkening sun What science explains its methods conceal Frustration attacks lost cogs on the wheel Desperation in charge its point ever sharp To pierce into nothing but leaving its mark...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

You don’t have to abandon previous beliefs to embrace what presents to you now As windows long open whose portals of light wrap around each new vision—enshroud Those messages ancient and all messages new interlock like the fingers of God ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

It’s easy to criticize… harder to know The poison unleashing, reflections aglow Assumption to breed where temerity hides The lie in sheep’s clothing —truth buried inside (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Beauty is truth, truth is beauty, let me count the ways Beauty is truth, truth is beauty, so near, so far away Beauty is truth, truth is beauty, one chance to cross the line Beauty is truth, truth is beauty, love is so defined Beauty is truth,...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Do you need to be born in Africa or Haiti to be saved What about the single mother in the ghettos of Detroit Will an actor or politician or philanthropist deem you worthy Of a rescue from a situation that as assuredly kills Cable TV asks for your ...

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Time passes through my watch, as function follows form Most sacred of mysteries —the final sojourn (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

For fifty years I laid out the traps that I find myself in —as old age attacks (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Sorrow… penultimate killer —handmaiden of death (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Destiny knighted —vanity scorned (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Not distracted by fame or success, the floodgates sprung open —truth running clear (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Beyond permission and the endowment tree The wind blows constant, it calls to me Freedom is born past entitlements whim The ends of infinity —knotting within (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm

Waiting for yesterday, I was delivered the voice Whose tongue universal, beyond reason and choice Waiting for yesterday, my time had arrived Death hunting itself —my spirit alive (Dreamsleep: January, 2021)

– by Kurt Philip Behm