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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Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism
takes no notice of the ordinary life.
It too easily overlooks
the empty pot,
the cold nights,
the pattering of mice,
a drunk father,
a delirious mother,
gunshots and shouting.

Then suddenly,
like the random plucking
of a single jelly bean
from within an infinite ocean,
there you stand in awe
on a beautiful green quad
amidst the ivory towers,
along with a few other jellybeans,
face-to-face with the daughters and sons
of this era’s great scions.
Until this moment,
no one ever told you:
you are the most precious pearl,
and the world is your oyster.

Who could blame you
for forgetting your past -
the tedious ways of living
which never suited you,
nor anyone else?
You don’t even care to remember
those bright sunny days
when you were furloughed
into the streets and parks,
the fields and the woods.
Perhaps it is just too painful
to recall your childhood longing
for freedom.
Don’t you dare worry,
the new day has come
and the sun is shining again.
It’s warmth reassures
your place among the chosen.
And this dumb jelly bean luck,
which you too easily confuse
with a bit of hard work,
becomes your prescription
for the savage world
you left behind at the gates.

When you were a child
you lived easily with uncertainty.
God wasn’t some distant possibility,
but the miracle of a flying insect.

Yet now, at long last
you’ve captured God
in a sinister algorithm,
which you will gladly deploy
through education,
meritocracy,
determinism,
false optimism,
exclusive fraternity,
and stock options.

Before it’s too late,
pause a while to consider
whether you truly want to live
your precious life in a dream?