Marquette Housing Commission Poem #1

Those gone made
for lack of love
and medication

their television sets are
5th story windows
endless blizzards
and the chatter of birds
too proud to fly south

The half-drunk ghosts
of Finnish miners
pushing their carts of bottles
into the frozen waters
that connect with the night
and disappear

I imagine this is death

and I am fine with it

the way a cat is fine
splayed out in the sun

waiting on nothing in particular

© 2016 Lee Kitzis

Valentine's Day Message to My Daughter on the Way

I

Savoring the last of my late nights
watching Kitchen Nightmares and
drinking Old Crow at 2:30 in the morning
which was less of a savoring
and more of an affirmation
that I wasn’t giving up much

I’m excited for you

you culmination
of mutual strangeness
and love

the nonsense songs we sing to our cats

are now nonsense songs we sing to you

please don’t lick yourself
and walk away

II

I want you
to have the life
my parents gave me

minus the sour stomach
and constant self-analysis

I want you to cook
and name the squirrels you see
Dottie and Action Jackson
and Doctor Acornsworth
and light a flame
in the Presque Isle snow
that burns the way it should

different

and you will

III

It’s 4pm

the huskies
are bedding down to nap
after a hard
two-day race

I’m about to make your mother
fried chicken for Valentine’s Day

she requested it

you requested it

the secret
is to let it soak
in over-seasoned buttermilk
for at least 3 days

and to never ever
season the dredge

that way you get the crunch
followed by all the flavor
contained within the chicken

people will tell you
to season the dredge

but that’s overkill

don’t ever listen to them

and don’t talk to strangers

and don’t date line cooks

and when the avocado’s ready

eat it

© 2016 Lee Kitzis

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

Eulogy at the End of a Production Kitchen Shift

I was halfway through 25 lbs of pesto
when I got the call that you died

You took a walk
went into a building
they said it wasn't good
and you never came out

Simple as that

I went back to work
everything seemed
mechanical, sick

The blade groaned
it was useless

delicious
but useless

No funeral
just a party
you said

you look past the sickness
you look past the veil
and you toast

so I'll do that

and I'll probably bring up
how you looked just like Ted Danson
and how you hated when I told you that

and we'll laugh

He's a handsome man, Tom

get over it

© 2014 Lee Kitzis