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.
That Old Man Over There
That old man over there -
he used to love the mornings.
You’d see him up early
taking the dogs for a walk,
kissing his wife before work.
Then something happened.
I couldn’t tell you what,
but I never saw his wife again.
Winter came and wouldn’t leave.
Everything about him turned gray.
Things stayed like that for some time.
Then the house came up for sale.
Goodwill trucks arrived to take the furniture,
and I saw that man pull out one Sunday morning.
That was thirty years ago.
He stayed away quite a while.
There were no kids to anchor him,
no reason for him to be here,
so he went out in search of a reason to be alive.
He must’ve found something,
or at the very least a way back home.
I’ve seen him from time to time.
He seems more at peace, very calm.
Now he comes every day and writes in his notebook.