QUOTIDIAN

Every Day Poems by Kurt Mueller
Trade paperback: $15.00

D E S C R I P T I O N

E V E R Y D A Y P O E M S 0 5 . 0 5 . 0 9 – 0 5 . 0 6 . 1 0

The poet is a master
of the quotidian, of conveying
a whole history in two or three lines
that point to an exact past drama
and intensify a future one.
V.S. Pritchett

In the spirit of Pritchett’s quote, the myriad poems in this volume bespeak the random
dramas and far-flung musings that unfold during everyday life. Written over the course of one year—one poem a day, no revisions—this collection ranges widely in style and tone: playful, serious, inventive, emotional, pithy, pretty, jarring, and thought-provoking. The observations in these etudes arise from one person, but they encapsulate universal experiences we all share— virtually every day. We only need to slow down to see that something interesting is always happening all the time.

E X C E R P T

G H O S T O P E R A

The low and sorrowful aria
of a ghost opera reverberates
in the cool, sunny morning.
(We all know the melody
by heart but rarely sing
along.) Dull echoes
from the past and the future,
from spirit and nature, mix
with the urgencies of the day.

The long-since and soon-to-be
dead stroll among the boulders
in our little-bit-of-heaven garden,
singing and enjoying the scent
of azaleas, cedar and wet grass.
I inhale deeply—to remember
the moment—before returning
to my list of things to do.