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.
War Love Letter (Dear Helen)
I write to you in utter desperation and need. You must have an inkling of what I am about to say. Yet for as long as you have known, your silence mocks my heavy heart. I wait calmly and patiently, appearing the pillar of strength and virtue. (That is what you want, right? You need to feel safe and protected. You want someone who can shield you from the mixed sensations of life.) In reality I am a weir of emotion straining to control myself.
With your last letter came the orders that sent a thousand men to their death. Unspeakable horrors abound. For your beauty and the stewardship of your love a war is being fought.
You are not a victim in this conflagration, but your innocence is noted. How could you know your blushing smile would send the mighty Ares to his chariot? Who would have thought your kind heart with its soulful discourses and the morning mist of your kiss would be so potent?
I am helpless to stop the fighting. My job is to contain it and one day to draft an accord. Complete and total dominance by one side seems unlikely. Rather a stalemate will ensue and the spoils will be divided, you among them. Then all will realize your frailty. As always you will be cherished, but as disillusionment grows among the ranks, you will be forced to withdraw.
Step forward now. End this struggle. Tell me, tell me, tell me... I shall turn these arms into a monument of humankind. So long as the sun leaps into the morning sky, so long as the moon calls the tides, so long will I love and cherish you.