Brian’sPoems

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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Grandfather

An obvious source of insight.

It’s happening more frequently now.
I’m thinking of my grandparents,
wondering what they were doing
and what they thought about
in their middle years.

In 1953 one of my grandfathers
died in a horrific farm accident.
In 1958 the other grandfather
was my same age now.

It’s hard for me to imagine
either grandfather held doubt
about the world he knew,
or was ever uncertain
about his place within it.

Both likely came to understand,
as I’m just beginning to learn,
how unwilling most of us are
to embrace life’s ambiguity,
allowing change to overtake us.

The grandfather I knew
lived for forty more years,
long enough for me to witness
the interior distances he traveled
to become an enduring source
of love and generativity.

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