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Our Presents Lay

Kurt Philip Behm

What determines genius…
an endowment or a choice

Is there destiny in all of us,
waiting for a voice

Is to reject your epiphany,
most used as an excuse

By those who pull the shades down low,
the darkness theirs to choose

Was Van Gogh so enlightened,
when he cut off his left ear

Or Joplin ever doubtful,
when she sang beyond her fear

Is genius so misunderstood,
its meaning false portrayed

That we see gifts in others
—as we let our presents lay

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2017)
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Submitted by KurtPhilipBehm on August 19, 2019

Modified on March 14, 2023

26 sec read
165

Quick analysis:

Scheme AB AB XC XC XD XD XX XX X
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 470
Words 88
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1
Full analysis for Our Presents Lay »

Kurt Philip Behm

Longtime writer with twelve books in publication. Three of them Poetry. : The Death Of The Playground : The Sword Of Ichiban : Searching For Crazy Horse : Darkening Sun : An Anthology Of Perception-Vol's 1 & 2 : After Midnight : Sammy And Bumpers : The Fall City Mandate : Revenge Along The War Trail : Death from The Sky more…

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    "Our Presents Lay" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Dec. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/49233/our-presents-lay>.

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