The subjects and settings of Joseph Mills' poems range from Laundromats, groceries, and coffee shops, to cemeteries, the stars over the Grand Canyon, and even Purgatory, which is seen as a combination "dry cleaner/car wash." These poems, which deal mainly with traveling and motion, explore the simple encounters that can suggest the complexity of human interactions. In everyday language, the narrator considers topics such as how difficult it can be to find a poem to read at a wedding, what happens when a person drives non-stop from Salt Lake to Chicago, and why it would be convenient if people wore labels like wine bottles, so "we would have a better idea/who might improve with age/and who we should enjoy now."
