David Ochs
HELL’S KITCHEN’S

Hells Kitchen’s

Once I went
to a “real authentic” Italian pizzeria
where they advertised the recipe
started in the old country
and was passed down
from generation to generation
but when I got up to take a piss
the kitchen door swung open
and all the people making pizza
were Black.

Then there’s a Chinese restaurant
with a picture of Master Fung
in his white culinary uniform
and you picture Master Fung
one of the top chefs
in Chinese cuisine
slicing and dicing
with his trusty cleaver
stalking the kitchen
demanding perfection
from his proteges-
only everyone
that works there
is Hispanic

and the only thing
real and authentic
inside these kitchens
are poor people.


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David Ochs
David Ochs is a fifty-three year old poet who lives in Santa Maria on the central coast of CA. He's appeared in many small press magazines over the last ten years.