The Collected Writings of Brian J. Mueller

A single poem, met at the right moment, can change a life.

Search and read all 1,834 pieces by Brian J. Mueller — 1,675 poems, 38 prose pieces, and 121 haiku from 12 published volumes. Free to read and share.

Search tips

Search by title, first line, poem text, book, or type — results appear as you type. Look inside the poems for any word or line, or wrap a phrase in "quotes" to find it exactly. Use the chips and the book menu to narrow things down.


34

...seemed like a turning point.

Last night I dreamt
I was thirty-four again.
It really wasn’t so long ago,
a pleasant age to be.

I had just enough life experience,
which would soon lend itself nicely
to uncovering the wisdom I’d need
for the remainder of my life.

Also when I was thirty-four,
the tide had already begun to turn
on our Twentieth Century illusions
and was headed back out to sea.

I think I knew by thirty-four,
and maybe even earlier
at the tender age of thirty-two,
my radical but ordinary odyssey
was only just beginning.