WEST ROGER’S PARK BEACH BABY

She takes my baby girl’s name and rolls it off her tongue
as if it were an awkward attempt at tossing a bowling ball
Her name – one of the most common in America
Comes clunking down the lane of my Muslim neighbor’s mouth
As an alien delicacy
Strangely savored
“Kay – tea”
As if she were saying “Okay, let’s have tea!”
“Okay, let’s do lunch!”
But, she really wants to hold this bundle of love
“Have you been to the beach yesterday?” She asks me,
“Baby has sand on chest”
I cut to the sand spilled in the hallway
The sand I swept up yesterday
The sand my 2 year old spread all over our foyer
From our fourth of July beach odyssey
The toys thoughtfully brought up by Daddy
Filled with sand
Reminders of the lake
The baby was in the hallway with Daddy
As he packed up his instruments for a musical today
Of playing trumpet
My neighbor shoots me with her eyes
For my darling’s sandy chest.
I take the baby back
And move on to our fruit and bagel breakfast,
laced with prayers
of gratitude for Kay-Tea
and the wonderous universality of
baby-love.

Cathleen Schandelmeier
7-6-02