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.
The Meaning Is in the Moment
When did one inch
make such a difference
to the fate of the Universe?
Never.
It’s a human conceit
to make things precise,
to get lost in the details,
to miss the big picture.
I know whereof I speak.
I’ve felt forlorn over lost opportunities;
fleeting moments I failed to seize.
My favorite teams have won and lost
by the narrowest of margins —
what if the ball had bounced
this way instead of that?
Oh, how our ego fears the arbitrary!
There must be some meaning
we can wring out of each tragedy.
If there is something precious
in every heartbeat and breath,
it is not magnified by measurement
or by storing our feelings in amber.
The meaning,
my fellow traveler,
is in the moment.