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.


Counterphobic

Who and what can I trust?

The closet door is ajar,
making me wonder whether
something within the darkness
is peering out at me.

It’s morning time,
though a darkness now descends
all across this land.

It comes
not only from my closet,
but also from the primal parts
of my primitive psyche,
a wilderness filled with fear
and the obligation to survive.

I watch
as good men and women
charge headlong into the darkness.
They can see the demons
consuming everyone from the inside
and are trying to defend us all
before it’s too late.