PoemsBrowse PoemsSlamsFresh DropEchoes
LearnWriting TipsPoetry TermsPoets & ArtistsBooksFor Teachers
ExplorePoetry GenomePoem MapEchoesTake ActionGroups
AboutWrite a PoemDonateSign UpLog In
Free Verse

Excuses Set Sail


The wickedness

of man

trumps the goodness

of God

 

What’s harder for

a child

to see their mother dead

or their father sob

 

The greater number

of a man’s errors

come disguised

as perfection

 

As excuses

sets sail

on the sea

— of perdition

 

(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)

©All Rights Reserved

Something wrong with this poem?

Share

Replies are closed for this poem.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, 24/7. Crisis Text Line — text HELLO to 741741.

Kurt Philip Behm

Poet

View all poems →
This Poem's Voice

Your Poem's Voice

PersonalThemeAbstract

Philosophical inquiry into morality, divine justice, human corruption; abstract yet grounded

SparseMeasureDense

Multiple dense ideas compressed into five lines; rapid conceptual shifts, high density

DarkSentimentBright

Profoundly dark: wickedness, death, parental grief, perdition; deeply negative

StillEnergyExplosive

Sharp declarative statements, bold capitalization, urgent questioning; kinetically charged

MicroLengthEpic

Five lines total; micro poem under six lines

PlainFigurativeOrnamented

Sea metaphor, personification of excuses; moderate ornamentation alongside plain declaration

LyricVoiceDramatic

Primarily lyric interior voice with some universal address; mostly internal reflection

Free Verseelegyprotestspiritualmetaphorpersonificationenjambment

How do we analyze poems? →

Artist Match

Comments (0)

Comments are closed for this poem.