Little flame
You sleep
I wait for you to wake
to hold you in my hands
and put you in my lap
and cover you with
my palm like a blanket
I am bigger than you
but in my mind
You are a lighthouse
flashing
Iris is a little flame
flickering light gray
with two white stripes
on either side outlined
in black with a
big brown stripe between
She is turning into an
adult so she is growing
her wings, which are
black with spots
that my mom calls,
lacing.