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.
Men's Rites of Passage
A man can know too much
filling his analytical mind with data,
which is then dutifully compiled and computed
into the blueprints for a great fortress.
I know this to be true and self-evident,
but not only because I’ve lived in a castle,
rather the truth found me when I went into the woods
sat naked, tired, and afraid with other men.
Together we listened to the rain falling,
felt the smallness of our being,
finally let go of all that data
which we ground into red meat for the wolves.
There in nature,
never fully wet,
never fully dry,
we wept silent tears.
and while listening to the drumbeat of life, we
peacefully took our places in the circle.