I stood in a pool of ****
in front of the ******
after watching a beautiful film
about a man who gets the girl.
Irrational tears clouded my vision
and blocked the putrid scents
of real life.
My body wanted me
to live in that story
a little longer.
That was nice.

–Ron Gavalik

I was born in a room
on a triangle of land and soot
between three rivers.
Just like the rivers,
I’ve been running
toward the fire
and from the smoke
all my days.
I’ll let you know
when I make it.

–Ron Gavalik

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