Brian’sPoems

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 Sound of Bagpipes

The sound of bagpipes makes me weep,
especially Amazing Grace,
which I hear as the lament
of a proud but weary people,
windswept and war-torn
throughout the ages.

Whatever grandeur is called forth
by those wailing pipes,
it must be the echoes
of raucous men and women
whose shouts of joy
and agonizing final breaths
filled the valleys
and bounced off the craggy walls
of granite and limestone,
before being muffled
by the soggy peat.

I’d rather not dwell very long
on memories I can’t fully articulate.
The older I become,
the more I appreciate
the sound of those pipes,
and the sense of mystery
as the distant waves of history
crash over me.

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