Somehow

Ben Miller

Somehow


stretching out on sheepskin’s

whorls of wool commas

awakens muscles, pen’s joints


a laughable lifetime is required 

to be a poet for zagging seconds

Ben Miller’s recent book—Pandemonium Logs (Rutgers University Press)—received the 2025 Balcones Prize for Nonfiction. His writing has appeared in Best American Essays and Best American Experimental Writing. Awards include fellowships from the NEA and the Radcliffe Institute, and grants from the South Dakota Arts Council and the Schlesinger Library.