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.
Jazz
Jazz,
with its strange beats
and broken rhythms
practiced alike by
mathematicians and
the high priests and priestesses
of smoke-filled,
and gin-soaked back rooms -
the urban night forever summer and sultry.
Jazz,
the language of dreams
the random firing of synapses
deep inside my head
the cacophony of a world gone mad
the syncopation of love between twinkling stars
horns exploding in my subconscious
while the rat-ta-tat-tat of the high hat
lulls me back to sleep.
Jazz,
how God speaks to me
without words
without any order known to humans
like the predictable unpredictability of love
the wind from God’s trombone
blows in all directions
all improvisation and swing notes
calling us to common purpose.