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Free Verse

Death


You can live

ad infinitum 

until you die

but once

The end of all

beginning

a finality

that trumps

 

You can live

free of its power

but not beyond

its grip

The underside

of sentience

in shadows

— looming thick

 

(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)

 

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Kurt Philip Behm

Poet

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▾ This Poem's Voice

Your Poem's Voice

PersonalThemeAbstract

Existential meditation on mortality and consciousness; abstract philosophical inquiry

SparseMeasureDense

Dense compression of multiple ideas: mortality, freedom, consciousness, shadow-self

DarkSentimentBright

Dark, somber tone; death, entrapment, shadows dominate emotional landscape

StillEnergyExplosive

Restless, agitated pacing; fragmented syntax creates unsettled momentum

MicroLengthEpic

Approximately 6-7 lines; micro to very brief poem

PlainFigurativeOrnamented

Metaphor of grip/undersides, personification of death's power, vivid shadow imagery

LyricVoiceDramatic

Primarily lyric internal voice; universal 'you' creates slight remove

Free Verseelegyspiritualidentitymetaphorpersonificationenjambmentrepetition

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