Fred – By: Ron Gavalik
By Editor Kyle June 7, 2018From an early age, before preschool,
there was one Pittsburgh man inside a box
who showed us how to find one’s bliss.
He set the tone to lead a happy life.
While I sat on the sofa, pillow hugged tight,
the Pittsburgh man inside the box taught me
the virtue of kindness and curiosity.
He taught me make believe.
When I grew up, life’s temptations
pushed aside his lessons.
I traded the Pittsburgh man inside a box
for the gluttonous abuses of flesh and booze,
soul-murdering hatred, and greed.
One early morning, around 8 A.M.
I crawled out of bed,
careful not to disturb the woman
whose name had been lost in a fog of whiskey.
I walked into the living room,
switched on the TV, and there he stood,
the Pittsburgh man inside a box.
His gentle manner, his big imagination
revealed to me a simple truth:
I’d chosen the wrong path.
A few years later while at the job,
the sad news came.
The Pittsburgh man inside a box had died.
He contracted stomach cancer.
That night the TV played his old shows.
I sat on the sofa, pillow hugged tight,
and said goodbye.
(originally published in the poetry collection, Slag River Sins)
