close to the town of Elizabeth
population 800
his hazard lights are on
pickup truck in the ditch
no clouds and next to another field of corn
he mows the grass in front of the crucifix
on Interstate 20
methodical
he is with another gentleman, younger
who are they doing this for?
Joris Soeding
Joris Soeding’s most recent collections of poetry are After Highland Park (Origami Poems Project, 2021) and Forty (Rinky Dink Press, 2019). Soeding’s writing has appeared in publications such as Another Chicago Magazine, Poetry Pacific, and Tint Journal. He is a 2021 and 2022 Pushcart Prize nominee and fifth grade Language Arts teacher in Chicago, where he resides with his wife, son, daughter, and cats.
Portage Magazine 