October Magic

When people tell me
baseball bores them

I understand

Ours is a secret society
we have our own language
spoken over pitchers of Old Style in bars
in our den 3 Bloody Marys in

it is the poetry of math

from the traditional verse
of AVG and HRs

to the scat
of sabermetrics

when the pitcher talks
into his glove

you read it in the catcher's nod

and when it works

it's glorious

and never thrown
down the center of the plate

we're a strange breed
brushing the corners

When people tell me baseball bores them

I understand

© 2013 Lee Kitzis

Hump Day Blues

I had a dream
I sang like
Howlin' Wolf

I didn't want it to end

I woke up
and took the bus
to work

the Slavic beauties
with torn looks
like somebody
just killed their dog

the same faces I see
every day

and nobody was singing

much of anything

and I didn't want it to end

I woke up
and walked into a warehouse
in the middle of nowhere

and punched the clock
nine minutes late

having collected grays

having collected checks

having collected the gritted teeth
of city bus drivers

and schizophrenic screams

I put on my whites

poured a coffee

and tried

© 2013 Lee Kitzis

The Prep Cook's Lament

We would rather
make love
than make 50 lbs of spiced nuts
or 25 lbs of guacamole

walk the streets
to and from work
confettied with losing
lottery tickets
and security system signs
on the lawns
of the paranoid

and yet we go

and cling to the moments
we can steal

a kiss of the nipple
in the shower

a grab of the ass
in the dairy aisle

pawing at each other

in the German bar

with the midday drunks

we've won

whatever there is to win

and the world can feed itself for a change

© 2013 Lee Kitzis

Slim to None

I couldn't sleep

so
I scrambled some eggs

and bought a lottery ticket

the odds were 1 in 575,757

I thought of you
at work

another 10 hr shift

and the cats

they slept well
in the sun

while little kids
screamed their idiot screams

Last night
you came to bed
and told me I had 20 minutes

when we finished I told you
I used 19 minutes 30 seconds

and we laughed
and you fell asleep
and I read a short story
about a tiger
and drank
watery gin

$12.94 in our bank account

1 in 575,757

you never believe me

when I tell you you're beautiful

so I will tell you

575,757 times

© 2013 Lee Kitzis

A Foreigner's Guide to Granada

When in Granada
keep everything in your front pockets

and don't eat the pizza

Don't wear a fanny pack

and don't trust anyone wearing a fanny pack

store olives in your mouth
like a squirrel

listen to the brook

name every street dog "Javi"

then

tear up this poem

and walk slowly

through the Albaicin district

getting as lost

as you possibly can

amidst the gypsies
and tomatoes

ripening in the sun

© 2012 Lee Kitzis

Amor En Granada

Forgive me Lorca

In the states
I worked as a prep cook

and lost my muse
amidst the obscene
hours of dawn
and too familiar streets

I traveled 4,000 miles

stray dogs barking por jamon

the weathered butchers

battling insomnia

my mind a mess

my lovely wife by my side

she says

"Look! I've cleaned the clothes!"

she's excited

we're spoiled Norteamericanos

we've never hung a thing out to dry

she combs her hair
by the window

I kiss her

forgive me Lorca

I traveled 4,000 miles

and didn't lose a thing

© 2012 Lee Kitzis

Mike

It was a cripplingly early
baker's hour

I had 20 baguettes going
in the oven
when the phone rang

"Hey, it's Mike.
Is Ashley there?"

"No."

"Who is this?"

"Lee."

"Well, next time you answer the phone
why don't you say your name
so I know who the hell it is."

I hadn't even had my first cup of coffee
so I couldn't think of a good comeback.

I also didn't know
who Mike was.

"Is Julia there?"

"She stepped out."

"Could you tell her I called?"

"Okay."

He thanked me

which I thought was weird

A minute later Julia walked in

"Some dickhead named Mike called looking for you."

She smiled

She knew who Mike was

His phone etiquette

had finally paid off

© 2012 Lee Kitzis