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.
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Browse the Twelve Volumes
Brian’s collected pieces, volume by volume.
A Good Poem
A good poem wants to be sticky.
Not that you’d memorize it,
but for a word or phrase
that goes deep,
a metaphor
that rings true,
an image
you cannot see.
A good poem has room for all the gods,
not just yours -
a panoply of flawed deities
forever bumbling along with you -
chattering
as you sit at the bar,
making you laugh
as you kneel in church,
waiting patiently
as you sleep through your alarm.
A good poem does nothing
the sunrise or sunset cannot do better.
It only tells the story
you might otherwise forget,
when you’re too busy
to remember her birthday,
when you’re too tired
to make the bed,
when you’re too angry
to tell him you love him.