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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In the Dirt

...is where you are rooted.

Don’t be fooled
by the stars
twinkling in the sky.

Pay little attention
to the birds
soaring overhead.

Staring at the rising
and the setting sun
won’t reveal the meaning
of your precious life.

For that
don’t look up,
you look down.

Let your eyes fall
past your knees,
beneath your toes
to the ground below.

Up is a distraction.
It’s too big for you to know
and will leave you despairing
of its emptiness.

Down in the dirt
is where you are rooted,
in the thick mud and muck
of all being.

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