I got this new flannel off Amazon yesterday

and I’m wearing it to work this morning.

It’s black and blue and really brings out the color

of my skin, I think.

My father and I used to love shopping

for plaid, flannel shirts at Goodwill,

and I’m pretty sure he’d try to guilt me

out of this one I’m wearing if he were still here.

Dad, I’m not sure what you want me to say.

You knew it was bound to happen eventually,

you had that heart condition and

the drinking wasn’t slowing down,

so, are you really surprised you died the way you did?

The way I heard it described was that

they found you in a flannel shirt and jeans

and your socks weren’t all the way on.

You must have looked like one of Santa’s little helpers

on your side in the fetal position,

reaching for the phone across the living room,

before your heart froze you solid.

I wish you were here still.

We’d order grinders with extra hots

from down the street, and watch movies all day,

two of our favorite things to do.

To be honest I still do it every weekend

to celebrate us, I think.

According to the experts you got out of bed

sometime in the early morning and started dressing.

I sometimes wonder if you started dressing

during your heart attack or just before,

if the thought of them finding you in your skivvies

was just too much so you had to make sure

you looked good with one of those sweet flannel shirts

I picked up for you across the street.

I imagine they moved you very carefully,

while talking about the game or about

how cute your pug was while it ran in circles around

the apartment, and on each revolution stopped

to bark at the front door.