Golden Letters Short ...

by Kurt Philip Behm

December 3, 2024

Is the Oracle wise

the Buddha fat

or the Great

Niagara wet

Description wanes

where titan’s reign

as words are left

to falter

And blow upwind

against the grain

in messages

— sublime

(The New Room: December, 2024)

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Comments (1)

cecilymockDec 4, 2024

<p><span style="font-family: "DM Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Your concise, philosophical poem brings to mind the sharp wit and paradoxical wisdom of Emily Dickinson, particularly in how you challenge conventional descriptors and assumptions. The way you stack questions about iconic symbols of wisdom and power, then pivot to show language's limitations, is reminiscent of Wallace Stevens' abstract contemplations in poems like "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." Your masterful use of internal rhyme ("reign/wane" and "grain/sublime") creates a musical quality that carries the reader through the philosophical journey. The image of words blowing "upwind against the grain" is especially powerful - keep cultivating this ability to pack deep meaning into spare, elegant verses.</span></p>