The Beginning of Undoing

By John Milkereit

In this sweeping and evocative collection, John Milkereit's comic charm and wild imagination return to explore what happened and what's possible, shuttling us through outer space and last night's date, the macro and micro disappointments and desires of our all-too-human hearts. With guest appearances by Cher and Pissarro, a disco-loving alien and Willy Wonka at a chili cookoff, the impossible becomes plausible in these wry, vibrant, continually surprising poems. "Remember to take note of one's / whole life," The Beginning of Undoing tells us - then, "Open the future / behind you / in a black drawer."

-Cait Weiss Orcutt, author, VALLEYSPEAK

Milkereit's poetry is delicious with detail, each work a pastiche of sumptuous specificity and gorgeous word choices. We are transported effortlessly into memories that parallel our own. Seldom do we encounter poetry this vivid and arresting, snapshots we want to pore over and return to time and time again.

-Lorette C. Luzajic, founding editor, The Ekphrastic Review and The Mackinaw

One of the poems in The Beginning of Undoing opens with a crow on Christmas Eve, arriving "to unload ribboned packages of breath." Milkereit doesn't explain the crow's presence. He lets the unexpected bird work its unexpected magic, leading to a breathtaking close, as the crow "caws into / my lungs - a softness, his lullaby. / He makes me his song." This is the enchantment that awaits you in The Beginning of Undoing: the poems will make you their song.

-David Meischen, author, Caliche Road Poems

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1639808477
• ISBN13: 9781639808472
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Kelsay Books
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"