Tuesday, September 6, 2011

HOT SAUCE!

Sorry about the 'ol writer's block guys. But I do have some exciting news for any Scotch and Salad fans that also happen to be spicy food lovers. Yours truly is going to be launching his own line of hot sauce.

Two flavors to start: a red habanero and a green jalapeno/serrano. Both of 'em are gonna be really affordable, fiery and delicious as hell.

Keep your eyes peeled to badseedhotsauce.blogspot.com. Bad Seed Hot Sauce Company should be up and running within the next 1 1/2-2 weeks. And please feel free to spread the word to any chile head friends of yours.

Yours in words and peppers.

-Lee Kitzis (poet and ((apparently)) CEO)

Sunday, July 31, 2011

A Good Crew

We'd grind it out
every day

hauling and setting up barricades
in the 99 degree heat

driving the flatbed carts
like maniacs

sitting on the top of the seat
one hand on the wheel
the other on a smoke
screaming at your woman
on a Bluetooth headset

building stages
for armies of the rich
their morning yoga
their morning Zumba
their morning whatever
not caring
swearing burping farting
19-year-old drunks
ex-brick layers
old sinners
blonde sons of cops
baby faced threatening
to "slap the shit" out of the punk Mexican cleaner
who eye fucked him

and the cleaners didn't do anything
because they knew the production crew
was tougher and meaner
and that Mike was "white boy crazy"

we're a regular UN council of fuck ups

and if you can't take a joke
god help you on this crew

I'm a gray haired Viagra case
Ralph earned the nick-name "Chili Nuts"
after he split the crotch of his pants
on a busy mid-90 degree day
John's "Pockets" cus he's always losing everything

everyone is something
and it's not pretty

but after work we drink
and look at the Chicago skyline
the park empty
knowing it'll all start again tomorrow
and thank god
we're not at a desk
or behind a counter

the beer cheap

and delicious

and the city glowing

careless
in the dumb humid night

like a peacock

with bums passed out
at its feet

© 2011 Lee Kitzis

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Starbucks

Cleaning the bathroom at Starbucks
is an ordeal

you have at most
a 2 minute window
before someone else needs to use it

and when you finish
there's usually someone waiting outside

on their last sip
of their iced quad venti
caramel macchiato

ready
for the inevitable

My best days are spent

in the washroom

10 seconds in
a Chopin nocturne will come on

and I am at peace
with the graffiti on the mirror
and the suspect looking
wadded up toilet paper on the floor

then
the handle jiggles
followed by another
even more violent jiggle

as if to say

break's over numbnuts!
get your 30-year-old ass out here
so I can pee in the sink!

I open the door
and there's a line

wanting to know
why their order wasn't filled
before they placed their order

I open the door

and it all comes rushing in

© 2011 Lee Kitzis

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Robbey

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Monday, April 4, 2011

Eating

Working for checks
that might as well
not exist

my stomach
gurgling and growling

I talk to it

“I have no money.
What do you want me to do?
I’d fill you
with artichokes
and steaks
and scotch
every day
if I could.”

It lets out
a big fart

I agree

we decide to take a walk
my stomach and I

we walk by tapas bars
sushi bars
restaurants with
300-course meals
on teaspoons

silent stomachs
in the window

where the checks roll into
laughing mouths

it must be nice

it must be horrible

© 2011 Lee Kitzis

The Bell

They’ve placed a servant’s bell
at the liquor loft register

if a customer shows up
and we’re not there
they simply have to ring the bell
to get our attention

they placed it there

then they went downstairs
and upstairs

they went far away from the bell

while it rang
and rang

for six dollar pints of vodka

while it rang
and rang

for chew and lottery tickets

while it rang and rang

on our ears

and on the deaf

© 2011 Lee Kitzis

The Man Who Screamed on the Train

I

He squeezed onto the train
elbowing a Chinese lady
brushing his crotch against a young blonde

There was a man next to him
his breath smelled awful
he was pockmarked and fat
like a well-fed feudal lord

the door closed
he noticed three people reading
the celebrity section of the morning paper
the train dragged
construction ahead

It came to a halt
the lights went out
everyone was silent

then an old lady
in a coffee-stained reindeer sweater
mentioned how excited she was
about crazy cupcake Friday at Jewel
to no one in particular
to anyone who would listen

this made the man sick
he opened his mouth and bent over
but nothing came out
he just dry heaved
and then

he screamed

he screamed
and he screamed
in full breaths

The veins in his neck bulged
like trapped anacondas

he screamed
like a man possessed

the newspapers dropped

the old lady left her cart of worthless shit

the passengers cleared the car
through both emergency exits

the man kept screaming
for some time

five people called in
a potential terrorist threat

and after 35 minutes
35 minutes of police negotiations
with a man who knew only one way of communicating

they shot him

one clean shot
to the head

he dropped
and stopped screaming

II

It was the first time
he had ever shot someone

he went home
and ate a Michelina’s microwave dinner

he didn’t feel bad

he didn’t feel good

he felt hungover
zapped

his wife asked him
what was wrong

his labrador looked at him
and tilted its head

he looked at it

he looked at it

then he opened his mouth
and did

what he had to do

© 2011 Lee Kitzis