Day 17: "Because: An Etiology"

Richard Prins (Prairie Schooner, Potomac Review, Fall 2023)

In this twenty-two-day series, we are counting down the days to publication (October 22, 2024) with a brief passage from each of the twenty-two essays included in The Best American Essays 2024. These excerpts were curated by Best American Essays Editorial Assistant Cheyenne Paterson and are presented in the order of the volume’s table of contents.

“Because you are a miracle. Because you squeeze my index finger in your tiny wrinkled paw. Because joy is shooting up my limbs. Because it melts into regret the second it strikes my heart. Because I know how soon I will be leaving. Because I rock you to sleep singing ‘Suzanne’. Because Jesus knew for certain only drowning men would see him.”

—Richard Prins, “Because: An Etiology,” Potomac Review, Fall 2023.