Author: Kurt Philip Behm

I am a lifelong author with 21 books published to date—one best seller. Much of my writing is about the deception of time and its many disguises. My Poetry 'An Anthology Of Perception,' is now available in four volumes. In addition I have a 175 page Poem 'After Midnight,' that was published in 2014. My Historical Fiction series, 'The Sword Of Ichiban' is now up to volume 8 which is being published this Spring ... Vol #1- The Sword Of Ichiban Vol #2- Darkening Sun Vol #3- Revenge Along The War Trail Vol #4- Death From The Sky Vol #5- Jumping Into the Darkness Vol #6- The Fall City Mandate. Vol #7- Approaching Storm Vol #8- Brothers In Blood One autobiographical novel, 'The Death Of The Playground' a Best Seller, published in 2007. One travel novel, 'Searching For Crazy Horse,' published in 2005, recapping my forty years of motorcycle touring in the American Rocky Mountain West. I have written one Children's Book, 'Sammy & Bumpers' that was published in 2016. All of my books are available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and better Book Stores world wide. Kurt Philip Behm

Quips 4-6-2026

An Ec Dote

 

All carbs on the table

hunger in the bank

More or less disabled

— nothing in the tank

 

**

 

To Simmer Or Boil

 

Poetry important

prose lesser so

Each word a keystone

to hold or let go

 

Nothing redundant

no fill in the stew

The meaning dependent

— on stirrings anew

 

**

 

 

Access Denied

 

Deaf to that ear

Blind to that eye

Numb to that touch

— senses denied

 

**

 

Morning Prayer

 

Conviction relighting

tomorrow’s lost candle …

Through darkness and doubt

— indecision in flames

 

**

 

‘A View From The Bridge’

 

Lyrical playwright

tragedy staged

Actor’s harmonic

— script to betray

 

**

 

Uncomfortable Truth

 

I’m not

divorced …

I’m just not married

— anymore

 

**

 

Piercing The Veil

 

Hearing it

clearly

Hearing it

plain

Goodbye

is what’s spoken

For all

— you can’t say

 

**

 

Crossing Over

 

Being different

to be different

creates more of the same

 

True genius

crossing over

redefining the game

 

When the road

takes a fork

most commonfolk choose

 

With the Sage

going straight

— indecision removed

 

**

 

Ergo Sum

 

Embracing

what’s presented

You become

— what you know

 

**

 

 

Fluid Contention

 

Whisky’s

for drinking

Water’s

— for fighting over

 

**

 

 

Reverso

 

So often …

the dumber you act

— the smarter you think you are

 

**

 

 

To Forgive

 

You can’t rebuild

a friendship

by ignoring

what’s destroyed

 

You can’t forgive

injustice

with spite and hate

— deployed

 

**

 

 

Mea Culpability

 

You don’t have to

agree with me

But you’re responsible

— for your words

 

**

 

 

New Clothes For The Emperor

 

Sounding smart

over being smart

Dilettante’s pander

— with truth on parade

 

**

 

Rising Above

 

Consensus

on the chopping block

Contention

in the throes

King Solomon

denuding both

Dogmatic

— he bestows

 

(Dreamsleep: April, 2026)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amongst The Ruins

Shadows befalling

a dark afternoon

And veiling destruction

the end coming soon

 

A boy and his dog

in the rubble at play

The body’s — toy soldiers

in silence they lay

 

Then one plane approaches

flying lower than most

Its bomb bay doors open

its payload to roast

 

A target that’s cross-haired

with ordnance bound

As a boy and dog play

— where death will impound

 

(To All Children Of War: April, 2026)

 

Sound Bites 4-4-2026

Dark Raven

 

In the beginning

there was hope …

there was hope

in the beginning

 

Soaring like an eagle shepherding the doves

 

Then man became

a king …

became a king

in his portending

 

Soaring like a falcon preying on the doves

 

Until pride became

his lord …

became his lord

in the undoing

 

Falling into darkness from salvation high above

 

In his self-inflicted

fate …

inflicted fate

his reign was ending

 

Falling a dark raven through the light of Heaven’s love

 

**

 

Finding Your Base

 

First

Last

And always

— pick your arena

 

**

 

Lost In The Throes

 

To me

it’s about imagery

damn the torpedoes …

damn the line structure

poems or prose

 

To me

it’s the metaphor

damning the simile …

damning the grammar

— lost in the throes

 

**

 

 

Manus Ad Manus

 

The hand that opens widest

— rocks the cradle

 

**

 

Boomerang

 

Debating yourself

a losers folly

Debating yourself

— new spit in the wind

 

**

 

My Honor

 

You might be

my ally

But you’re not

on my side

A formal

arrangement

An unmarried

bride

 

You say

you are loyal

In liege

to the same

But when push

comes to shove

My honor

— you’ll claim

 

**

 

 Right Always Right

 

Can anything get done

without being autocratic

Can anything happen

when subject to vote

 

Did Our Lord become savior

by being democratic

Right always right

— never crossing the moat

 

**

 

Playing The Odds

 

Dotting the I’s

all Hell freezes over

Crossing the T’s

tomorrow is gone

 

Hedging your bets

the wolf edges closer

Playing the odds

— the right and the wrong

 

**

 

 

By Its Grace

 

I always said

I’d know

when it was time

for my last poem

 

And choosing

perfect rhyme

I would leave

forever knowing

 

The world

a better place

a warm embrace

with letters showing

 

That time

has set me free

and by its grace

— my aura glowing

 

**

 

 

Heads In The Sand

 

Our country has become

a nation of cowards

Valuing safety

over what’s right

 

Festering blindly

foes are emboldened

Our heads in the sand

— embracing the night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Father’s Goodbye

I am your father

I’ve always been here

You are my daughter

You are my son

 

I’ve never wavered

I’ve never questioned

You have been foremost

By far number one

 

But now I feel distant

Now I feel lonely

An inconvenience

Who no longer belongs

 

And soon I’ll be vacant

Gone to my maker

You both left to wonder

— the right and the wrong

 

(To Aging Parents Everywhere: April, 2026)

New Thunder

A troubadour wanders

through star laden space

Absorbing new light

from destiny’s face

 

The truest reflection

opaque at the heart

Intrepid attacking

repelling the dark

 

As hope and a memory

marry within

Strings of eternity

tune on the wind 

 

Where off in a storm cloud

the Jester forays

And wrapped in new thunder

— a violin plays

 

(To Scarlet: April, 2026)

Reason Kneels

Is it logic

Is it impulse

Is it neither

Or then both

 

Is it Descartes

Is it Hegel

Is it Kantian

In our hope

 

Will we whisper

Will we dictate

Will we prejudge

Most devout

 

Will we wonder

Will we question

Will we pander

Into doubt

 

In the morning

In the noontide

In the twilight

Of our youth

 

Reason saunters

Reason flounders

Reason kneels

— before the truth

 

(Dreamsleep: March, 2026)