Love & Lost: "The Face of an Angel"

By Michelle Longo-Bloom

(For Penn)

Sometimes wearied
Sometimes frayed
A boyish look
Taken; dismayed
Still so amazed
At a person’s wretched craze
Needing so badly to be freed
Of the dire sights and dreadful deeds
His lady’s past and their selfish needs
Innocence appeared at my doorstep
And vastly chipped my guarded soul
Within days my being; swept away
My thoughts, my convictions, my body; whole
The face of an angel came to me
My jaded spirit, broken apart
He gave it back to me
Untainted, untouched
He gave it back to me
My soul; my heart

FOR MY SON: LIFE MOVES ON

Photograph by AudreyLynne Waldbaum Castiglione

LIFE MOVES ON

For Matthew

By Michelle Longo-Bloom
2007

Years ago when my son was two,
I watched him ride the carousel.
I watched him ride the helicopter,

the airplane, and then the train.

I watched him eat an ice-cream cone
and wiped his chin when it dripped down
covered in sprinkles of blue and red;
how I wish I took a picture instead.

Oh, how fast the time went by
and what I’d give for another try.
There are things I didn’t say and do,
what I’d give for that day with you:
a day just like that very one.
Now growing fast and on the run…
but life moves on; what’s done is done.

Some time ago he turned four at last
I watched him picnic on the grass.
I watched him lay a blanket down
and in circles he ran around and around.
It must have been three dozen times,
he circled that blanket then fell to the ground.
He ate from his basket of treats; so fine
his candies of every sort and kind.
And then I watched him laugh so dear;
his smile spread from ear to ear.
I made him eat something healthy
and suddenly, his smile bare;
his laughter gone; no more to hear.
Oh, how I wish I left him alone.
I wish I wasn’t caught up in the fear.
Oh, how I wish I let him laugh.
I wish I let him be so dear.
I wish I didn’t interfere.

Oh, how fast the time went by
and what I’d give for another try.
There are things I didn’t say and do,
what I’d give for that day with you:
a day just like that very one.
Now growing fast and on the run…
but life moves on; what’s done is done.

It seems like yesterday when my son was six
on a breezy day with dark clouds amidst.
Way beneath the dark cloud beds,
he was running through the sprinkler heads.
Laughing hysterically, and “oh so cute!”…
a fact I simply can’t refute.
Dashing back and forth he’d go,
over and over, fifty times in a row.
Each time I’d follow with a towel to wrap him
so afraid that he’d catch a cough or cold.
Now how I wish I threw that towel in
and ran along side him getting wet.
I was just too afraid he’d catch a cold.
How wrong I was, you can bet
because now at thirteen, he’s just a little too old.

Oh, how fast the time went by
and what I’d give for another try.
There are things I didn’t say and do,
what I’d give for that day with you:
a day just like that very one.
A pre-teen now and on the run…
but life moves on and what’s done is done.

I love you Matthew, you are my life!!!
~Mom~

 

This is where Matthew picnicked on the grass that day.

Photographs by Michelle Longo-Bloom

     

Photograph by

AudreyLynne Waldbaum Castiglione

LOVE & LOST

Photograph by AudreyLynne Waldbaum Castiglione

WALK WITH ME

By Michelle Longo-Bloom

Take me with you
Can I come along?
Let me be by your side
Together we will walk on
Take my hand
As one we will listen
To the sound of Fall breaking
Crackling;
As our feet press down on arid leaves
Walk with me
To see the weeping willows
Drench the meadow with their tears
Stay with me
As we settle down to rest
And watch each sun rise and set
Wake with me
To the smell of each morning’s dew
To skies of blue and gray, and yellow too;
Walk with me.

   Photograph by AudreyLynne Waldbaum Castiglione

LOVE & LOST POEMS:

         Photograph by AudreyLynne Waldbaum Castiglione

I STILL LOVE YOU,
BUT
NOT IN THAT WAY

By Michelle Longo-Bloom

When you’ve loved someone for over twenty years

They’ve stood by your side and eased all your fears

So devoted they’ve been through all of your strife

For the entire time shared of your together adult life

In such ultimate love you created a child

A pre-teen now, but still precious and mild

You brought him into this world with inconceivable joy

And you remember him thanking you for his beautiful boy

The proudest father right before your eyes

The happiest husband; his smile lit up the skies

The times you shared so special and true

So blissful to be with his son and you

Then twenty years later come these words from nowhere

And you feel as though you can’t live and can’t bear

When he told you, “Sit down, I have something to say,”

The words from his mouth on that life altering day

That unspeakable, dreadful, horrendous phrase:

“I still love you, I do, but not in that way.”

HEAR THE BIRDS

 Photograph by AudreyLynne Waldbaum Castiglione

Hear the Birds

By Michelle Longo-Bloom

Just once upon the early morn
I want to hear the birds at dawn
Hear them chirp on my front lawn
And I want to really concentrate
On what they’re saying; let penetrate
On whom they like and whom they hate
Which house’s trees they do prefer?
And whose lands and roofs they better rate
If Five Medford Lane is of high preference
Or mine, number Three, does more for their taste.
Which branches do they seek and search?
And how high do they enjoy their perch?
Are they happy in number Four’s Dogwood?
Or is number Two’s Maple equally good?
The big Cherry Blossom across the street
Is that where they fancy each day to meet?
Just once I want to wake and hear
The words of all the birds, so near
But what a feat when each waking day
My mind is overwrought with fear.
Just once, I want to wake and hear
The talk of all the chirping birds
But how impossible when my head is filled
With constant ruminating words.

Photograph by AudreyLynne Waldbaum Castiglione 

              
                                                                       

    Photograph by AudreyLynne Waldbaum Castiglione
                                                          

A LETTER TO DAD

                

  Photograph by AudreyLynne Waldbaum Castiglione 

Dedicated to all our soldiers who thought it was almost over and are now risking their lives even more! You are all in our thoughts & prayers each and every day. God bless you.


A LETTER TO DAD

By Michelle Longo-Bloom

I’m writing to you today Dad,
because I know you’ll understand.
There are endless sounds of gun fire,
bombs blasting and wind blown sand.
I don’t mean to make you sad Dad,
but I’m feeling very scared,
the courage and the bravery, little I have had;
much less than I was seeking;
when I was leaving for this war
perhaps it was my “bravado” speaking.
I felt so gallant, I felt so proud,
“I will serve my country”, I did shout out loud.
Whatever you do Dad, don’t lose your faith,
don’t lose your pride or your trust in me.
No matter how much blood shed and terror that I see,
I vow, in the name of freedom, this war, we shall beat.
If I come home, alive or not,
I will tell you this, straight from the heart.
You can tell the world; shout it out loud,
“My son served his country and I feel so proud!”

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