from Joey arrived
Saturday via
snail mail
addressed 
with one name:
Nana
Chuckling I imagined
the mailman’s smile.

At six,  his lines

     were c r o o k e d

s p r a w l e d        Over the p a g e

           s h o r t

and             s w e e t

“Guess what ! I made my bedroom into a secret lab. Your letter
was the coolest I ever saw.”

Joey- first 
Grandchild lovingly nick-
named “The Sheriff”
for his rigid rule keeping
Yet his Valentines birth
resonates tenderness.

Tears of joy and pride
streamed down
my face..
Composed with pencil and paper
by himself
splayed across the kitchen floor
First love letter 
birthing 
many new
chapters to follow.