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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The Great Gift of Poetry

The great gift of poetry
is for the man and the woman
who have come to the end
of reason.

Death does not end
because a man asks for a reprieve.
No, death pushes him over a cliff,
then makes the ground soft
so his battered body
will be buried like a seed
to bring forth new life.

A woman won’t produce enough offspring
to compensate her for all the love
she needs and desires.
But she will learn from her children
the amazing patience and tension
of the Creator’s love.

Now flip the script.
Put gender on a continuum.
It does not matter.
You cannot tell me a story,
written for anyone alive,
which is not a love poem.