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 Ocean Rises
The tide goes out
even as the ocean rises.
Still the rocks refuse
this opportunity to run,
to seek higher ground
and live in the open air.
The gulls circle on the breeze
and the rocks wait patiently
while the crabs and sea lice
scour their porous surfaces,
seeking salty pools left behind
by the hastily retreating waves.
The stillness of this moment
belies a pregnant truth:
The moon will soon return
and call the ocean back
to blanket the inlets and rocks
and to steal yet another inch
of the precious shore.