Thoughts On My Grandfather's Wake Poem by Matt Greenblatt

You don't wear a tie
Because your neck looks good leashed in color

You don't wear a tie
To hear your friends remark how nicely you clean up

You don't wear a tie
To impress women

You don't wear a tie
To effect the choked civility that comes wrapped in ribbons

You don't wear a tie
For God, who made you naked and gave you a throat to breathe

You don't wear a tie
Because your father wore a tie everyday at breakfast and dinner

You wear a tie
Because your grandfather
Would have worn a tie
Because the three times in
The intersection of your lives
When it damn well mattered
You both put one on, and they were
Tight and sharp and perfect
Two weddings and a funeral