A Sapphic Winter Ode
by Robert K. Omura
A snowy field, half-stalked with winter wheat,
mocks the stark absence; the low valence of gold
marks the stillness, the breathless prairie fold
that holds no peace.
Ruffled air blades in, flaps down on metal wings
peels back the skin of living, grounds the flight
of white birds in cold furnace blasts, while flat light
skiffs a lake of geese.
Come short days of short sun. Come hearts of wine
disrobe this desire, while young wallflowers hang
in green bungalows, where bower cages sprang
until all loves cease.
Maintained or neglected, familiar or foreign, well-worn or wild, roadways inform our decisions and identities. Their geographies direct the movement
of our lives and sketch the cartography of our stories. In this spirit, 322 Review publishes provocative emerging and established artists whose fiction,
creative nonfiction, poetry, and mixed media artwork wander the paths of human experience. A nonprofit literary journal conceived
and operated by former Rowan University graduate students, 322 Review is based in Southern New Jersey.
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