I call him Fred.

I greet him now this way,
“Well, hiiiiii there Fred!“
My daughter rolls her eyes…

When Fred made his
first surprising reveal,
jerky movements
and impossibly quick,

I, of course, screamed
closed the mailbox swiftly
Apologized…
When I thought I’d crushed him

I looked around
Wondering who saw my
interaction…
With the mini mail troll

Then… reopen
To gather sealed up stress
Dramatically,
I keep my body back

Just far enough…
From my fuzzy new friend
Who now just stares…
Shew, I didn’t crush him!

At least not yet…
For now he still greets me,
with a knowing,
a mutual respect.

And in spite of
the ongoing eyerolls,
I spied “mail talk,”
And I heard her say, “Fred!”