we talk of alcohol taking classes at our age our kids as toddlers collecting too many things you’re seated on the table without students for a day just us for awhile until other grownups want to share getaways their winter high points I would prefer to leave my blue chair arrive to your table in a rare silence my hand to your cheek inform that I’m here without a word you grasp my hand peer as I stand closer to you without surprise across pull-down maps and hum of the heater sun descending on other side of the park leave the door closed we can wish for each other
Joris Soeding’s most recent collection is In Twos (Bottlecap Press, 2026). Soeding’s writing has appeared in publications such as Another Chicago Magazine, Poetry Pacific, Portage Magazine, and Tint Journal. He is a fifth/sixth grade Social Studies teacher in Chicago, where he resides with his family.