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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Not Here

My struggle with becoming.

No.
Not today.
I bargain with my awareness.
Please, I say,
go away.

At this moment
I feel too present
to the Presence,
and it’s revealing to me
all the grim faces
of a life lived
within a world of denial.

I once danced blissfully
while the load weighed heavily
across my back and arms.
Now I seem to have forgotten
how to hold these heavy truths.

Once I glimpsed freedom
and flew in its rarefied air.
I want to live only there,
not here,
not where we all struggle
with becoming.

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