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 War Within

Where all conflict starts...

What does it mean
to win a war?

As the smoke clears
what do we do
with all the bodies,
the scorched earth,
the souls destroyed
by fear, anxiety and mistrust?

War starts
from deep within,
with that haunting feeling
life is meaningless.

War is old men
growing older while
ignorant of their true roles
in the cycle of life.

War is ego
climbing like a mountain
to precipitous heights,
then crumbling to dust.

But peace is our defiance
to the creeping nihilism
from within and without,
as we come to embody
a fuller expression of life.