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

Heaven Or Hell

Your body borrowed,
  the soul to lend

The clock runs quickly,
each tick portends

Your choices wagered,
  the chips they fall

The sins if proffered,
a last downfall

Your memory staggered,
  the past in waves

The future stealing,
are you enslaved

Your trumpet blows,
  one last farewell

The die is cast
  —heaven or hell

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)

A Lakota Mother’s Prayer

‘Wana Hin Gle’ the Lakota call me,

‘Wana Hin Gle’ my given name

 

‘He Who Happens Now,’ the drum beat has found me,

reaching into this moment beyond glory and fame

 

As ‘Wana Hin Gle,’ my spirit has wandered,

as ‘Wana Hin Gle,’ my ancestors call

 

The questions dissolve, as The Great Mystery beckons,

the campfire eternal, the chanting enthralls

 

“‘Wana Hin Gle,”’ my Mother calls proudly,

“Your horse is now waiting, your shield fixed with bone

 

“Off into the prairie you must ride in the twilight,

the People will dance until their son returns home

 

“’Wana Hin Gle,’ you must now happen quickly,

the buffalo ravaged, starvation cries loud

 

“Your eyes to look upon the great Wakan Tanka,

whose absence has shamed us, who once were so proud

 

“As the great Tasunka Witko who traveled before you,

you must call for your horse to come out of the lake

 

“Great Mother River and Great Mountain Father,

to your will they entrust what The People forsake

 

“Your spirit must suffer, the babies still cry,

the cold through the tent flaps, all future in blight

 

“The hawk comes to guide you, as you pass through the darkness,

the drums of your fathers beat into the night

 

“You will ride to the top of the ‘Pass Of The Bears,’

ask the Grizzly, our brother, where the demon still hides

 

“Where it lives, you must kill it, for this time and always,

before it steals our last dream, keeping spirits alive

 

“The White Horse will take you from the lake to the mountain,                                      

and the stallion will sprout wings with its hooves fiery hot

 

“You will trample this demon and burn him before you,

the smoke will then signal of what he is not

 

“‘Wana Hin Gle,’” my son; the time is for going,

your journey awaits, past-futures on hold

 

“The Medicine Woman is locked deep inside you,

your People die waiting—the young and the old”

 

(Pine Ridge South Dakota: February, 2011)

From My Novel: “Searching For Crazy Horse”

Kurt Philip Behm

Written by

Kurt Philip Behm  kurtphilipbehm.com

Madonna’s Last Hymn

I’m on my fourth lifeline,
  how about you?

The first three pre-owned
  the current one new

This one seems fleeting
  which gives me concern

My freezer now empty,
  no steaks left to burn?

The first one was blissful,
  the second had pain

The third one reflective
  but this fourth one again….

I try to hold on
  and describe it at will

Exceeding my grasp,
  it alludes me and still….

I wouldn’t go back
  to either one, two, or three

The things I see now….
  seeded fruit on my tree

If this is the end,
  and the lights start to dim

I’ll sing the words strongly
  Madonna’s last hymn

More thankful than troubled,
  more joyous than sad

More today than tomorrow
  —the past in the past

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)

After Midnight

After Midnight
The narcissists fall
After Midnight
A new lyric calls

After Midnight
The bugles will blow
After Midnight
There’s more left to know

After Midnight
The lizards collect
After Midnight
All tales to reflect

After Midnight
The ticking won’t stop
After Midnight
The bottom has topped

After Midnight
A cancerous tome
After Midnight
Malignancy known

After Midnight
Betray and deceive
After Midnight
Alone in the siege

After Midnight
All footsteps fall deaf
After Midnight
Last palate uncleft

After Midnight
New story to front
After Midnight
A star for the dunce

After Midnight
The comets rebel
After Midnight
The coroners yell

After Midnight
A suit made of steel
After Midnight
Its melting reveals

After Midnight
The plain and the slack
After Midnight
There’s no turning back

After Midnight
A sacred oath sworn
After Midnight
All memory forlorn

After Midnight
The wheels bend and turn
After Midnight
Lost vision relearns

After Midnight
False birth is stillborn
After Midnight
Old vestments are torn

After Midnight
The here and the now
After Midnight
That one sacred cow

After Midnight
Past-Future unseen
After Midnight
—new eyes that believe

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)