Sound Bites, Issue 9: Cole Drusbasky (he/him)

ABOUT OUR AUTHOR:

This issue, our author is the Insider’s own Cole Drusbasky, a junior Creative and Professional Writing major, History minor, and CA here at Pitt-Greensburg. Cole decided to switch his major from Education to pursue his love of writing. He typically writes poetry about nature, individual vices, and personal life experiences.

TWO POEMS by COLE DRUSBASKY

The dad image 

This morning, I was in a rush 

so I quickly put on some dirty clothes  

and went to work.  

As I was sitting at my desk working, drinking coffee,  

I saw my reflection in the window 

I realized that looked like someone’s father   

Three-day-old jeans, white sneakers, and a stained white crewneck. 

I felt like a dad  

who, on a cool, damp Sunday morning, got up early  

to make some quick phone calls  

and would later repaint the upstairs hallway.  

Drinking black coffee from his favorite mug,  

listening to the strange silence from the rest of the house,  

and enjoying the sounds of his brush against the wall.   

He might step outside  

for a slow drag of a cigarette,  

feeling the cool breeze that comes  

during the period between summer and autumn.  

Alone in Eden 

It was early May, and the bushes and plants were in full bloom. 

The park was abandoned, I was alone. 

The sound of nature’s loud silence gave me solace in solidarity. 

In the afternoon, I sat on the wall of a stone bridge, 

under a flowering bush, reading and eating fruit, 

enjoying the quietness of my surroundings, 

pausing to listen to the birds sing. 

ABOUT OUR COLUMN:

Sound Bites is a poetry column intended to be read, heard, and tasted. It is finger food, messy and hands-on, compacting all the sweetest bits of a writer into a few small moments. The column will accept student writing submissions in the form of poetry or short prose for every issue from any and all majors, ages, and backgrounds.

Submissions can be emailed directly to Poetry Editor Geneva Webber at gwebberinsider@gmail.com. Parameters for submissions are as follows:

• Please attach a Word (.docx) document of your piece(s) with a maximum of 750 words each
• Include a short but personal bio about yourself with a maximum of 200 words
• Specify your preferred name and pronouns
• Please email me a cover photo of yourself— professional or not!
• If you submit multiple pieces, please give them a group title of your choosing (i.e. “Three Poems by Lindsey Kutz”)
• Be prepared for follow-up questions 🙂