Joan Mazza Snowed-In Sestina

Snowed-In Sestina

The temp has dropped to one degree. Too cold by any human standard. I’m thankful for the heat rising from the wood stove downstairs, too old to be making that round-trip for the beast’s feedings every two hours. It’s only six inches of snow piled up like Swarovski crystals, not an ice

storm or a blizzard. Beneath the snow, ice lurks without intending malice. A day that’s cold enough to freeze my pond, wind to blow the snow off the surface. Seventy degrees inside, the heat pump not overworked as long as I feed logs to the black cast iron beast below. My old

dog stays in bed, prefers summer. We grow old together. Nearly mobile as before I fell on ice four years ago, I’m making bread to feed neighbors, friends, grateful I don’t have a cold, for my full supply of pasta, grains, yeast, the heat flowing from the oven. In the forecast, no more snow

in sight. But this half-foot of fluffy snow from yesterday will last a week before it’s old and turns to muddy slush. I miss Florida’s heat, glasses sweating on the patio, filled with icy drinks. I miss the plunge into ocean waves, cold water against hot skin, without the desire to feed

on endless carbs. I hold a strand of words, feed them through my fingers like fabric strips, snowy satin on the edge when the phrase is right. Cold shoulders spur me to write and write, old habit since childhood. No, I won’t be iceskating on the pond. You’ll find me near the heat

source with my cat, whir of the heat pump and wood stove fans. I’m over-fed with ravioli, challah, chicken soup, and icecold family. A white blanket of snow covers spongy, brown ground, oak leaves old and crumbling in this brittle cold.

Endless cold days. I long for summer’s heat, no fear of snow. I could move back before I’m old, before I’ll need someone to feed me ice cream.

Joan Mazza

Joan Mazza's work has appeared in Crab Orchard Review, Prairie Schooner, Poet Lore, and others. She is the author of six books, including Dreaming Your Real Self. She has worked as a medical microbiologist, psychotherapist, and seminar leader and lives in rural central Virginia, where she writes every day.