a birthday poem for my littlest sister

My Littlest Sister

a poem for my sister Desiree on her birthday

Some people get angels to announce a birth,

I got my father speaking to me from 500 miles

north, me the big sister standing

in a dorm room. The message came by phone,

"her eyes are the color of chocolate", her name

is Desiree, and her middle name is Ann

without an e, like her new mom. Like

she was always supposed to belong to us, and we

always wanted to be a family.

* adapted by a poem by Krista Lukas*