Longest Day

[Lorenzo]

Today, my senses are paralyzed
In frozen chambers of dismay
As in solitude I chant 
Silent notes of prayer. 

Like a leafless tree writhing, 
I long for blossoms 
At spring's first dawn

When the brightest days
Are longer than 
The darkest nights,

When the breezes are warm, 
And the air is fresh 
With the scent of laurel,

When climbs of roses 
Bring new hopes to bear
And tears of time 
Drown my despair...

...When oblivion is home 
To all my dismay.

M.R. Berman
February 7, 1995 

This poem was written for a patient who experienced abnormal bleeding from the onset of her long-planned pregnancy. Prental testing was carried out in an effort to establish the cause. A rare and fatal chromosome abnormality was discovered and she lost her pregnancy in her thirteenth week.