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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Sacred Seeds

...bear a fruit called serenity.

It took a few years before
I could find and cultivate them.

The seeds were patiently waiting
in my heartbreak and sadness.
They germinated in darkness
and began to flourish in solitude.

My questioning and negativity
seemed to be a kind of fertilizer.
Or maybe it was my skepticism,
and all the years of unwept tears
that watered them from within.

I don’t know what exactly,
but something made serenity grow
in the barren and empty landscapes
of hopelessness and isolation.

When I returned home
I brought serenity with me.

Amidst a normal life
serenity seems a bit ordinary,
like a common house plant
or lamp in the spare bedroom.

But out of doors,
in our wild animal existence,
serenity flourishes and sustains,
whether it waxes or wanes.