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 Poetry of Fierce Landscapes

It’s all mirrors.

The poetry of fierce landscapes
lives and breathes a warrior life
in damp overgrown jungles
reverberating with the sounds
of buzzing insects and falling water.

It lives in the high deserts
where stone after goddamn stone
soaks up the heat of the sun
baking out all of the softness,
turning even a gentle heart
into dust on the wind.

It lives in crowded cities,
malignant neighborhoods collapsing,
unable to sustain the weight
of such concentrated need.

The poetry of fierce landscapes
wraps the human heart in vines
and slowly silences beating drums
until the whole world becomes
still, like a panoramic painting
seen from outer space.

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