Linus or Edith

The ultrasound
jostled you awake
like an old man
asleep on a bus
that hit the brakes

and I saw your heart flicker
and this thing between my legs
that was the master
of some many questionable decisions
in my early 20s
had done something
I did not question
in my early 30s

and wow I thought
and holy fuck and wow again

and I let out something
between a laugh and a cry

I loved the way it felt

but did not like
the way it sounded

I sounded like I had snapped
circus music in my head
a future wearing jorts to funerals
and running for president
as a Libertarian bowl
of cottage cheese

but my wife
just grabbed my arm

her eyes lit up

she loved the music

if it were up to her
it would never stop

wow I thought
we’re both fucking crazy

that makes me feel a little better

and we watched you
settle back in

little Linus or Edith

and holy fuck and wow again

© 2015 Lee Kitzis

New Book

New book, The Octopus and Other Poems, coming soon.

Will keep everyone posted.

Tell strangers.

The Line

Sharpies worn down

two-day stale hangovers
hands shucked into oblivion
arms burned to the point of suicide attempts
a million sous chefs
screaming a million nothings
at a million Ecuadorian lifers
stuck in brunch service

We do it for love
We do it for abuse
We do it for the hell of it
We do it for the hell

© 2015 Lee Kitzis

The Octopus

The owner came in
saw the octopus on the counter and went
"This reminds me of my holidays in the Mediterranean."

It fell on deaf ears
with the prep cooks and the line cooks
who had an average of 3 kids
and just as many jobs

Paulo leaned over and went
"Man, I fucking hate rich people."

I laughed
dick deep in meatballs
always meatballs

I got the nickname
The Meatball Master

one I didn't want
which made it stick harder

Anna
she was "Garfield"
in charge of family meal
and constantly meowing

a hot kitchen and three kids
will do that to your brain

Eric
the 49-year-old line cook
was "Mister Trouble"

he claimed he had kids all over the place

he was like Howlin' Wolf
if Howlin' Wolf worked in a chicken-themed restaurant

Occasionally club members would wander through
Human Resources knew to stay out

The hot sweaty beautiful misery was ours

The dance was ours

The octopus was ours

© 2014 Lee Kitzis