Being a chef I rarely get time for breaks
when i do they are often rushed
never a sit down meal
never reading a book
never enjoying the sensation of not standing.

but sometimes one must sneak out for a cigarette.
it helps you keep standing.
helps you.

fuck the machine
it can wait for a moment
while i remember that i am alive

The cat that wanders around the dumpsters
in the parking lot
must be on his game this evening.

A dishwasher, taking out garbage
gives this stray cat a skewer of shrimp
cast away by a patron
or perhaps made especially for this stray cat
that I always see wandering near our dumpsters.

Life is damn good sometimes
damn good.