National Poetry Month Day 14: Red Plaid Shirt

Fair Warning, you may not like this poem, or it may hit a nerve, or trigger upsetting feelings.

Red Plaid Shirt

He thought he was invincible
He didn’t need to listen to rules
Nothing can hurt me, he’d say
With his goofy grin and red plaid shirt

They don’t know anything
It’s not as bad as they say
And out the door he’d go with a smile
Wearing his favourite red plaid shirt

Until he wasn’t all right. Until the cough
Until he went out and spread the disease
Now he’s gone and so are four other people
And all I have is a red plaid shirt

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