At 6:00, I drank
to remember,
to swim in the nectar
of consequences secreted
over a lifetime.
At midnight, I drank
to forget.

—Ron Gavalik

In the pursuit of truth
and justice and growth,
we cannot celebrate our angels
without acknowledging our demons.
Each of us are flawed humans.
We are magnificent disasters.
In our mutual struggles to breathe
and survive a mad world,
every step we take
and every word we speak
is a work of art.

–Ron Gavalik

Sitting in the late night bar,
I fingered a bottle cap while
another tragic love story
streamed through my head.
The light from a beer sign
reflected off the whiskey glass
to form a shimmering horizon
that gently cradled the cap.
Thats when I realized
sunrises can happen
whenever and wherever
we need them.

—Ron Gavalik

I really don't know
how many glasses
of whiskey I've drained
or how many hours
I've stared out windows
while waiting
for the world to awaken
from its drunken slumber
and begin to improve.

—Ron Gavalik

Back in the small town,
we hung around the gas station
in the afternoons and at night.
We drank cartons of iced tea
and laughed about nothing.
We watched others live
the lives we wanted,
but weren't quite ready
to begin.

—Ron Gavalik

Inside the café, a cute artist
with blackened fingertips
sketched in her notebook.
A handsome boy took the next table
and waited patiently for a chat.
Sketching with a fervor,
oblivious to her surroundings,
that artist and I shared a truth.
Imagination is often preferable
to the daily realities
****** upon us.

–Ron Gavalik

I've grown so tired
of hating you,
but I’ve hated you so long,
it's all I know.
After the foul odor of death fades,
fresh air will replace
that which we cannot change.
Staring out the window,
my chest tightens from dread.
The pollution we’ve spewed
may have scorched the soil
where new trees must grow.

–Ron Gavalik