Matriarch

"Hello Grandma,"
- "Well, Hello Nicholas," she’d answer

as if she was the only one
who knew how to say my name.

This old goat-roper of a woman.
Combine Ingredients with care:

One part peanut butter fudge.
One part Methodist Church bulletins
One part midnight Canasta
One part clear plastic cups filled with tea
(three teaspoons of sugar, please)

Then add soda keys and felt-covered knick knacks:
pencil cans, paperweights, and half-full candy dishes.

And don’t you dare forget Charlie Hustle
or those damned old wire-rimmed glasses.
And still, I wait for this voice to call out
from the end of the hall when I say:

Hello Grandma.