Mary Mueller is a Providence psychotherapist who specializes in therapeutic writing. Peruse her website here.
She aspires to wit and wisdom in her poetry.
Her poem Embedded was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by New Verse News in 2009.
Mary is advisor to Dr. Bert, famed Corgi therapist. See: Corgi Confidential
► Mary's Origami microchaps & selected poems are available below.
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Origami Microchap |
Selected Poem(s) |
 Cover: Dr. Bert in his office
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Opening Lines Most therapists just sniff around the subject of sibling rivalry.
We’ve all read the classics - The Alpha Puppy Sleeps Here,
What about the Runt? For years we’ve chewed on the horrors
of the Oedipal Complex,but we still deny a secret wish to obliterate
our siblings. I suspect it’s because we were the caretakers
of the litter.
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Mary Mueller © 2014
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(or why I miss Winter TV)
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Best in Show May I have the Sonnets in the ring, please?
This versatile breed had its origins in Tuscany in the 1300s. The Petrarchan sonnet is known for its witty, yearning, argumentative form. Its knack for barking at its own questions make it a darling of the intellectual set and a model of self-sufficiency. Breed standards require only five rhymes to qualify, unlike its offspring Shakespearean sonnet, which needs seven. Adopted in England, the sonnet’s tail was modified by Thomas Wyatt into a rhyming couplet. Beloved by Romantics, Shakespearean sonnets are welcome guests at weddings, anniversaries and candlelit dinners. This short little breed’s ability to stand on its own fourteen lines insures it’s place as a heavy-weight in the formal rhyming group. Here is Sonnet Number 29. •
Mary Mueller © 2013
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 Cover Photo by Janice Forsstrom
Infinity scarf created by Ginny McClure •
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The Knitting Cure Modern experts agree
that knitting is good for “flu-in-the-nerves,” my grandmother’s phrase for upset and worry randomly plaguing our town. “If only she’d take up handwork,”
Grandma would sigh regarding Rose, whose nasty case of flu-in-the-nerves required hospital stays. Her sigh encompassed the world.
If only we knew that anxiety, grief and family wars, disappointment beyond despair, when woven into a simple act of plying yarn in endless beats can transport our minds to infinity. •
Mary C. Mueller © 2013
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 Cover photo, ‘A Tuscan View’
by Brian Murphy •
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Opening Lines In the morning
one sentence appears - like mist from the hills. The breeze is as it was yesterday.
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Mary C. Mueller © 2012
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Selection |
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Photo courtesy of Richard Benjamin
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On Buying an Orchid at Whole Foods The orchid soared white,
a swan’s neck arching over Easter Lilies, common tulips and harlequin spring bouquets. Its roots like parched tentacles overflowed the pot. They predict long life, smiled the gypsy clerk, unless they’re overfed. An orchid must have fear,” she said, which explains its roots primed to flee if daffodils attack, but not its knack for artful poise as it forces shoots through thirsty stems in a desperate bid for life. • Mary C. Mueller © 2011
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Aphrodite Reflects on the Apple How odd that apple did not
like a dove take flight to alight on my hand – perhaps with my arms entwined I was impossible to find. Now I must scheme for what is already mine. • Mary C. Mueller © 2011
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| A Cup of Origami | |
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Cappucino Steamed peaks
float like meringue in the swimming pool cup that warms my hands. Ready to dive nose first into roasted mist, I pause and sip. Alchemy of capuchin – elixir of bliss. ‘Cappuccino’ by Mary Mueller © 2009 |
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If Dorothy Parker Could Twitter
(In 140 Characters or Less)
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No. 5 If greed is a sin,
and its wages to die, how do corporate transgressors end up in Dubai? Thoughts?
• Mary C. Mueller © 2009
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If Dorothy Parker Could Twitter
(In 140 Characters or Less)
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Opening Twittertry, like ennui
creeps in on kitten feet. Twittertry, like archery aims at the grand conceit. • Mary C. Mueller © 2009
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