Ron Gavalik: Poems

Jan 2019 · 112

Ron Gavalik Jan 2019

When we hit the whiskey,
we felt very good
for too short of a time.
The cowards and the ******
didn't disappear into the night.
At least their filthy claws
couldn't get a grip
on our throats.

-Ron Gavalik

Jan 2019 · 236

Loser Lesson

Ron Gavalik Jan 2019

Loser Lesson

I was once beaten
hard
by a large man
with red fire eyes
and froth on his lips.
Don’t worry, baby.
I gave as good
as I got.
That day, I learned
to survive.

-Ron Gavalik

Hit it: PittsburghPoet.com

#fight #beating #survive #beat #lesson #learn

Jan 2019 · 133

Free Souls

Ron Gavalik Jan 2019

Free Souls

The lovers and the fighters
both know that bitter
sweet tinge of struggle.
They are also the free souls
who deliver truth and emotion
upon apathetic servants.
Adorned in empty gray suits,
the mob lives only to criticize
those who rise above
the mundane.

-Ron Gavalik

Jan 2019 · 128

Agenda

Ron Gavalik Jan 2019

Agenda

Lily's hands were soft.
Her red nail polish
didn't contain even one chip.
As that dame stroked
the inside of my thigh,
the scent of an agenda
lingered on her breath.
So I started the car.
We didn't speak five words
during the ride back.

-Ron Gavalik

Jan 2019 · 451

Convenient Love

Ron Gavalik Jan 2019

Convenient Love

A dead Christmas tree
was set out with a neighbor's trash.
It lay sideways, stripped
of half its needles.
A brown cat sniffed
one of its branches,
but then sauntered away.
All relationships eventually
lose their charm.

-Ron Gavalik

#love #usefulness #christmas #trash #lost #stripped #relationships

Dec 2018 · 356

Flame Dance

Ron Gavalik Dec 2018

Flame Dance

It was just past 2:00 am
on a lonely new year's eve.
I drove across the Rankin Bridge
and noticed a gold flame dance
atop a stack at the mill.
I stopped the car
in the middle of the bridge
and walked over to the rail.
In the darkness above the river,
the suffering didn't exist.
It would return
with the sun.

-Ron Gavalik

#pittsburgh #newyear #flame #suffering #dance #memory

Dec 2018 · 458

Modern Weeds

Ron Gavalik Dec 2018

Modern Weeds

I’m trying <!DOCTYPE html>
<html> Baby, I’m trying <head>

I’m trying <title> to see through
all the weeds "width=device-width">
<style> of our modern landscape
but I know my search {:left;background}
is a futile effort.{font-family:Arial, sans-serif}
{font-family:Georgia, serif} This is our world
now, and I’m just trying ;14px;font
</style>
to see
</head>
through
<body>
the madness
</body>
of the weeds.

-Ron </head> Gavalik </body>

Dec 2018 · 889

The Maxim

Ron Gavalik Dec 2018

The Maxim

The writer’s job
is to build the words,
not perform for applause
or join cheap cliques.
The printed word, baby,
that’s the nervous anticipation
for the 300 pound *****
who ***** the best ****.
Words are the hit of whiskey
after the sun drops
below the buildings.

-Ron Gavalik

Hit my Patreon and seek TRUTH. Patreon.com/RonGavalik

#truth #maxim #whiskey #writer #passion #***** #words

Dec 2018 · 176

Commune

Ron Gavalik Dec 2018

Commune

Sitting on the cellar steps,
it was difficult to not admire
the rainwater that flowed
with determination across the floor.
Powerless to stop the flood,
I made a choice
to enjoy the fresh perspective.
So many others made feeble attempts
to control the inevitable
with sandbags and prayers.
I took a hit of whiskey
and then communed
with the storm.

-Ron Gavalik

Dec 2018 · 219

Cold Walk

Ron Gavalik Dec 2018

Cold Walk

Christmas shopping,
much like a belt of whiskey
or a short vacation,
gives us a chance to unplug
from the daily anxiety.
Transported from the grind,
we take simple pleasures
in considering the lives
of those around us,
the others.

-Ron Gavalik

Dec 2018 · 123

Thank You

Ron Gavalik Dec 2018

Thank You

I am grateful that so many
of you continue to enjoy my work.
I write, bleed, and share truth
for all of us at no charge.
All I ask in return is that you
CLICK THE LINK
at the top of my profile
and honorably support my efforts.
Thank you.
Happy Holidays.

Dec 2018 · 87

Steel Bars

Ron Gavalik Dec 2018

Steel Bars

On the construction site,
I dropped a shoulder of 2X4s.
While retrieving the planks,
I cursed the sky and the job.
An older guy barked at me,
‘This ****’s better than jail.’
His wisdom taught me
there are two prisons:
one with and one without
visible steel bars.

—Ron Gavalik

Nov 2018 · 657

Aftertaste

Ron Gavalik Nov 2018

Aftertaste

A terrible lover is similar
to a terrible piece of chicken.
You can choke it down
as expected, or cast
the remnants away
and move on.
Neither option is ideal,
but only one
is grounded in truth.

—Ron Gavalik

Nov 2018 · 393

...went on

Ron Gavalik Nov 2018

...went on

The night went on
as the madness kept coming.
There was nothing
I could do
to stop it.
Eyes closed,
I prayed long and hard
for the dawn.

—Ron Gavalik

Nov 2018 · 169

Bland Turkey

Ron Gavalik Nov 2018

Bland Turkey

I’ve never preferred turkey.
That bland taste is the reminder
of the bland jobs and the lovers
with bland imaginations.
When we give thanks,
I bow my head in reverence
for the perpetual fight.
That dash of ferment
snatches a glimmer of life
from the march toward
our insipid decline.

—Ron Gavalik

Nov 2018 · 164

Walk Away

Ron Gavalik Nov 2018

Walk Away

There was a time
when the sight of your lips
made me want to **** you
inside bar bathrooms
and atop the kitchen counter.
Those days are now gone,
and I no longer have any desire
to own you. There is nothing
remaining inside to give or say.
So I will walk away
alone, upon tired sidewalks
to never love again.

—Ron Gavalik

#love #alone #goodbye

Nov 2018 · 119

Reckless Contour

Ron Gavalik Nov 2018

Reckless Contour

An older woman at the bar,
danced alone near the jukebox.
Eyes closed, she swayed her hips
to some kind of old school jazz.
Cigarette smoke hovered around her
on the makeshift dance floor.
The smoke contoured to her body,
it clung to her reckless past.
The chain-smoking drunkards
hollered and giggled as cowards.
One of them would **** her
before the night ended.
All I could do was watch
and write this poem
in my mind.

-Ron Gavalik

Nov 2018 · 259

Pittsburgh

Ron Gavalik Nov 2018

Pittsburgh

After the most abhorrent violence,
during times of misery and sorrow,
a wise man will sit in a dark room
and reflect on his truths.
In rage, he will curl his fingers
into the tightest fists.
In sadness, he will weep
for all that has been lost.
In his chair, the wise man will drink
his whiskey, and then he will stand up
and fight back against the hate.

-Ron Gavalik

My city. My community. My life and my love.

#pittsburgh #jewish #hate #violence #love #wisdom #fight

Oct 2018 · 363

A Call to Disarm

Ron Gavalik Oct 2018

A Call to Disarm

Today, my Jewish brothers and sisters
in the greatest city on Earth
were gunned down by a man
poisoned with hatred,
that bitter hit of political rage.
Tonight, imperfect souls will gather
to hug and weep and scream.
As we gaze upon so many fierce tears,
I pray we absolutely never
go quietly into that goodnight.

-Ron Gavalik

Oct 2018 · 257

myself

Ron Gavalik Oct 2018

myself

I've met many men on sidewalks,
at jobs, in bars and cafés.
Some of these men held
strong principles. Others
sold their minds and bodies long ago,
usually to rather low bidders.
Of all these men of youth and age,
colors and religions, I still prefer
my own company the most.

-Ron Gavalik

Oct 2018 · 204

Slithered Words

Ron Gavalik Oct 2018

Slithered Words

The best poem
came to me last night
while shaving.
I didn't write it down,
and now,
much like the shaving cream
that slithered down the drain,
those words are gone.

-Ron Gavalik

Oct 2018 · 95

Howl and Chase

Ron Gavalik Oct 2018

Howl and Chase

I really have no idea
how anyone can love a writer.
We're great observers,
but terrible people.
Marry a carpenter or a welder.
They know how to build
things worthy of your heart.
All a writer can do is howl
at the moon in madness
and chase the dreams
that never come.

-Ron Gavalik

Oct 2018 · 314

Inhale

Ron Gavalik Oct 2018

Inhale

I often have no clue
what words will come
when pouring blood
onto the page.
The soul has a life
and a will of its own.
Sins and truths, much like smoke,
live in the surrounding air.
They wait for someone
to inhale.

-Ron Gavalik

Oct 2018 · 107

Better Drunk

Ron Gavalik Oct 2018

Better Drunk

Everything is better when drunk
on whiskey and ginger ale.
Paying bills, *******, music,
even listening to the screams
of former lovers curse you
into damnation.
Fashionable liars prefer beer.
Poets who write in meter
and rhyme, they drink wine.
I am not most poets.

-Ron Gavalik

Oct 2018 · 99

Perfect Waste

Ron Gavalik Oct 2018

Perfect Waste

A guy in a suit at the bar
cracked an unfunny joke.
It was the kind of joke
only office drones understand
or find amusing.
His buddy spit out his whiskey
from the involuntary chuckle.
The guy said, ‘Hey, man,
you’re wasting perfectly good scotch.’
I thought the joke was a waste
of perfectly good words.

-Ron Gavalik

Oct 2018 · 231

Goodnight, Friend

Ron Gavalik Oct 2018

Goodnight, Friend

In life, you brought laughs
and relief in tense moments.
You traded me tobacco
for ***** and friendship.
You died this week. I’m sad
for your loss, but I have not wept.
I still hear the humorous timber
of your voice, and I remember
the way you let things slide.
That’s your gift. The memories
of our chuckles together
dissolved my tears.

-Ron Gavalik

Sep 2018 · 251

Back to Reality

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Back to Reality

After a passionate night,
she asked me to drop her off
at the job. I pulled up to the curb
and watched her step out
into the drizzle. I gazed
at her hips as she strolled
to the door, but the car behind me
blew its horn. The reality
brought me back to Earth.
Our date had ended.

-Ron Gavalik

Hit the good stuff, my friends. Patreon.com/rongavalik

#reality #date #*** #goodbye #love

Sep 2018 · 168

Chin Up

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Chin Up

I’ve always preferred women
strong enough to not give the finger.
In a world of ugly cowards
and beautiful charlatans,
the dames who stroll by
with good posture,
they really got it
where it counts.

-Ron Gavalik

Sep 2018 · 119

Out the Window

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Out the Window

Strangers often ask what I do.
"Writer," I usually say, but that
**** isn’t the truth. If what we do
is defined by how we spend
the bulk of our time, then what I do
is sit in a soft chair with a stain
on the back cushion. I stare
out the window at the hillside.
Sometimes I ponder and reminisce.
Other times I don’t.

-Ron Gavalik

Sep 2018 · 119

If you want to know...

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

If you want to know...

If you want to know
where to find the gambling,
ask a bartender.
if you want to know
where to find Jesus,
ask a prisoner.
If you want to know
where to find love,
ask yourself.

-Ron Gavalik

Sep 2018 · 292

The Wait

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

The Wait

I sat on the porch
in my underwear
around the time the neighbors
drove home from their jobs.
I smoked an acid 60 gauge
and sipped bourbon
from the bottle. I waited
for something worthy
of my pen to happen.
It never did.

-Ron Gavalik

Sep 2018 · 216

No More Love

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

No More Love

I loved you
until I didn’t.
That’s how it goes.
I’m sure the answers
are out there to be plucked
like cherries or heart strings,
but I have none of them.
Leaves fall. Hearts break.
Whiskey is swallowed.
That’s life.

-Ron Gavalik

Sep 2018 · 216

Devoured

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Devoured

You don't hate me
because I ****** you.
That's far too simple, baby.
I communed with you,
and I devoured your spirit.
From the husk that remains,
you must find wisdom
to regrow that which you were,
and know life will never be
quite the same.

-Ron Gavalik

Get the good stuff on my Patreon: Patreon.com/rongavalik

#*** #love #spirit #soul #wisdom #life #hate

Sep 2018 · 205

Deluge

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Deluge

The rain fell so hard
and so fast for so long
I'd almost forgotten the peace
of warm breezes.
Huddled in the dank corner
of madness, faith is absent.
Tranquility is but a dim memory,
a speck of light
we never even hope
to reach again.

-Ron Gavalik

#rain #storm #depression #madness #hope

Sep 2018 · 136

Sunday Truth

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Sunday Truth

I love you.
Yes, that’s true.
I don’t even know you,
but I know you embody unique
stories of humor and sadness.
There’s so much hatred
all around us. That loathing
has taught me a valuable lesson.
I love you. I always have,
and I always will.

-Ron Gavalik

Sep 2018 · 258

Gift from Life

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Gift from Life

I often see my life's work
as a style of wrapping paper
meant to entice the eventual recipient
who receives my soul.

If each one of us is a gift
of life's magnificent bounty,
then it must be true
that someday
we will be presented
to life's loving companion,
the peace of death.

It is with this in mind
that I shall work to ensure
the wrapping paper sparkles
brighter than the summer stars
and contains more colors
than we could ever see
in a rainbow.

Sep 2018 · 138

Untitled

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Untitled

A long time ago, in a city far, far away...

Her: I think I’m a pretty awful person.

Me: Send nudes.

Her: Guess I’m not that awful.

Me: Precisely.

Her: Wait, do you really want nudes or are you trying to show me how awful I’m not?

Me: Both.

Her: Sigh...

Life, baby. It is what it is.

Sep 2018 · 144

Elusive Love

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Elusive Love

The most romantic moment
I've ever lived happened in a city park
during a human rights rally.
A **** brunette made eyes at me
and my tattoos. I waved to her.
She grinned and waved back.
Later on, while a speaker shared
his thoughts on aiding the poor,
that same woman raised her fist
and proclaimed we are all
brothers and sisters.
Afterwards, she was gone.
She had vanished
in the crowd.

-Ron Gavalik

Sep 2018 · 639

Ant’s Life

Ron Gavalik Sep 2018

Ant’s Life

A lone black ant scurried
across the tile floor in the coffee shop.
Far from its colony, the ant marched
courageously on its journey
to find food and water for others.
Halfway across the barren floor,
the ant stopped. It turned to look
back at the road traveled, and then
turned to view the road to come.
The ant appeared lost
in thought or prayer.

After careful consideration,
that black ant continued its trek
across the desert landscape.
It would either fulfill its task
or risk death in the glorious attempt.
Fear, ever present, would not
control the ant’s short life
or be allowed to corrupt
its moral truth.

Aug 2018 · 158

Fucked

Ron Gavalik Aug 2018

******

Rubber dolls are lovers.
Camoflouage is fashionable.
Armpit hair is dyed.
Clean water is scarce.
Cable programs are news.
Politicians are leaders.
Hot pockets are food.
Trump is a genius.
Country is music.
...and we wonder why
our society is lost.

-Ron Gavalik

Aug 2018 · 151

Untitled

Ron Gavalik Aug 2018

Untitled

The days she went mad,
her eyes danced in their sockets
the way a lion paces inside its cage.
Her fingernails, man,
they dug through flesh
like the last few jagged shards
of her soul, or sharp regrets
of an unfulfilled life.

Aug 2018 · 1.1k

Refill

Ron Gavalik Aug 2018

Refill

That bartender poured my bourbon
and took an interest in my life.
'What's wrong, pal?
You can tell me.
I have all the answers.'
'Great,' I said. 'I don't know
any of the questions.'
For the rest of the night,
he left me with my typer
and silently refilled
the bourbon.

-Ron Gavalik

Hit my Patreon or let me starve. The choice is yours. Patreon.com/rongavalik

#whiskey #bar #bartender #bourbon #questions #answers

Aug 2018 · 3.0k

Daydreamers

Ron Gavalik Aug 2018

Daydreamers

The clerk behind the coffee counter,
she stares out the window
onto the sunny street, lost in thought.
Her half smile on that young face
is an art exhibit of a daydream
about a possible future.
An old woman at a nearby table,
she stares out the same window.
Her eyes glossed over,
they indicate she's remembering
the good moments long past.
The coffee shop daydreamers
have much in common.

-Ron Gavalik

Hit it. Patreon.com/rongavalik

#daydream #coffee #smile #remember #memory

Jul 2018 · 2.5k

Heaven

Ron Gavalik Jul 2018

Heaven

At this sushi joint,
she searched for the words
to describe her dinner.
‘It's heaven,’ she said, ‘Yes, heaven.’
Call me a simpleton, but divinity
on Earth is the sweet tinge of bourbon,
the smoke of an acid 60 gauge
that rolls over the tongue,
and the music of Pink Floyd
with the lights off.

-Ron Gavalik

Hit Patreon. No, I’m not kidding. Patreon.com/rongavalik

#heaven #bourbon #cigar #pink #floyd #whiskey #alone

Jul 2018 · 227

Pliable

Ron Gavalik Jul 2018

Pliable

On a construction site
as the sun rose over the hill,
I watched as my fellow applicants
humbly and quietly lined up
for meaningless labor jobs.
Those men, I figured,
they have fat wives
and beautiful marriages.
I couldn't bring myself
to stand behind them,
and so I walked off.

-Ron Gavalik

Hit it: Patreon.com/rongavalik

Jul 2018 · 793

Unworthy Fight

Ron Gavalik Jul 2018

Unworthy Fight

A sparrow landed in a city park
near a black cat sprawled out in the grass.
The bird began to chirp, chirp, chirp,
in the way drunkards ramble in bars.
Clearly irritated, the cat crouched low,
its ears back, ready to pounce.
After about a minute, the cat relaxed.
It must have figured killing the bird
would ruin the mellow mood of the day.
A moment later, the bird took off
and vanished in the trees.
The cat flopped itself
back into the grass.

-Ron Gavalik

Jul 2018 · 4.6k

Assistance

Ron Gavalik Jul 2018

Assistance

On the bicycle trail, a middle-aged
woman in spandex biking gear
had her bike flipped upside down.
I dismounted next to her.
“You need a hand?”
She kept her eyes fixed
on her bike wheel. “Why do I need
your help?” Her voice was filled
with contempt. “It’s only a flat.”
I didn’t respond.
Pedaling along the river,
I made the decision
to keep offering assistance.
Someday I’d need it.

-Ron Gavalik

Dig it? Hit my Patreon. Patreon.com/rongavalik

#bike #bicycle #feminism #assistance #jerks #contempt

Jul 2018 · 1.7k

Stroking

Ron Gavalik Jul 2018

Stroking

Her kink was to watch
as I stroked one out in the car
in suburban parking lots.
One night, a guy in a ball cap
walked by. That poor man
was her unwitting accomplice
to ecstasy, but he just shook his head
as he strolled into the pharmacy.
I figured stroking was easier
at home on my own,
but that's the ****
we do to see
her smile.

-Ron Gavalik

Memory. Hit my Patreon. Patreon.com/rongavalik

#******* #*** #kink #relationships

Jul 2018 · 2.7k

Hard Labor Love

Ron Gavalik Jul 2018

Hard Labor Love

I came up in Pittsburgh,
the Rust Belt of hard labor
with a deep love of community.
As children, we collected railroad spikes
from the tracks and we cut our shins
on random iron shards in **** hills.
Some of us were union middle-class
and others breathed the gray air of poverty.
That hardly mattered. As we stood atop
foothills that overlooked the city skyline,
soot embedded under our fingernails,
we lived as kings and queens
that oversaw the future.

-Ron Gavalik

Hit my Patreon, you scurvy freeloaders. Patreon.com/rongavalik

#pittsburgh #rust #belt #kings #queens #soot #iron #love

Jul 2018 · 591

See Me Through

Ron Gavalik Jul 2018

See Me Through

Opening your soul to the public
is to swim naked in the sewer
with scores of salivating rats.
The poseurs spill their low-calorie
compliments. The haters,
they drop the most sincere insults.
Depressed, angry, mad,
I walked into the kitchen.
Standing barefoot on the cracked tiles,
Hemingway finally made sense.
A bottle of cheap whiskey
next to the coffee maker,
it had a mouthful left to go.
I figured it would see me through
and that's what it did.

-Ron Gavalik

If you dig my work, hit my Patreon. Patreon.com/rongavalik

#rat #depressed #madness #whiskey #writing #poseurs #haters