Was I sitting in the living room or in the kitchen?

I don’t remember; I was 2 years and 9 months old

They never let me hold him.

A burst of relatives into the living room

GI Housing having done away with entry halls

Mother, Father, Aunt and Uncle

Bringing the New Baby home.

I went to hold him – to welcome him

into our GI project apartment

After all, he was the topic of conversation

for at least the last 6 months

but the grown-ups snatched him higher

with a loud “No!!”

Toddlers are not allowed to hold the baby

Woulda, coulda, shoulda

If they had known better

they could have sat on the sofa,

put me on their lap, and included

me and The Baby in a warm embrace.

But no one had a degree

in Child Psychology

If that’s what it takes

or plain old common sense

to know: a toddler is a person too

with feelings

remembered for a lifetime.

They never let me hold him.