Three Poems by Daniel Gallik

Drudgery

I kept seeing the gun

and thought about my kids,
she said to her husband.
The man was alone,
and demanded all the money,
she continued
while the husband
started packing up
his belongings in his mind.

God, she kept on, I was scared.

I thought it was the end
of my dismal life.
I thought I’d never see Jimmie
and Lizzie again.
Oh, and you. The husband
in his mind has his stuff
in the Datsun,
and was heading for Fla.

Meanwhile, she droned on.

Outside a heavy snow was falling,
huge plows scraped at the fall.
The husband went down the stairs.
In the two car garage his one car
wouldn’t start.
The good one did,
and he went to the Bi-Rite
to get some Kleenex.

The Lake’s Girls In June

There they lie. Talking & taking in

sun & wondering what the next day will bring
as the stars fade into the baby blue
of a clear morning. Elz asks,

the house is a mess, when shall I clean it,
or (laughing), shall I clean it at all?
Marsh changes the subject, I am
worried about my son.

He’s involved with a little girl already.

Toni asks, oh, which girl? Lindz pouts,
oh, that daughter of mine. Giggles,
and I haven’t even taught her

that sex is bad. All she has to do,

Elz quips, is ask her mom about bad sex.
The four giggle, go in for a bit of a swim.
Meanwhile, the summer pushes near.

Times when the kids will live at the beach.

Chatting about new bikes. SPF 15
sun proof protection. And whether
their moms really understand anything.

This Story Never Made It Into The Courier

Sun’s down and orange. Herv ate the last

peach of the season. Chucked the pit into
the already full garbage. Said, well,
there goes summer. Wife said not one

word, did the wash. Herv then went and

took all his clothes off. He said
to no one, that’s a day. Then, hey hon,
come in here, make love. Louise kept

folding underwear. Herv got in bed and

farted, closed his eyes. Died. Louise
took another load downstairs. She later
folded more and more. Kids came home from

Lincoln’s girls’ bball game. The Statues

won and were then 7 and O. One girl said,
Dad in bed? No one said nothing as Louise
decided to do the dishes. Herv’s brain said,

no work tomorrow. Ain’t that funnier

than hell? Yuck, yuck, yck as his mind
fell into its ending. Wife thought,
I wish when he went to bed he’d be quiet.



Daniel Gallik

http://www.dangallik.com/