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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Acceptance

There is no substitute.

I just returned
from having judged the judgers
as holding a perspective too narrow
to accommodate this world
as it truly is
in size and complexity.

I am challenged
by the things they say and do,
and thus struggle to give them
the same space to grow
that I have been given.

I wonder if
there is room on our planet
to absorb the messes we all make
as we struggle to bear witness
to the beauty and mystery
of what we already know,
and the evermore
we have yet to learn.

So here I sit,
calmly aware of the infinite,
about which my only choice is
to accept it.