I used to wear them.
I had a math teacher colleague
who wore them all the time
even after everyone stopped.
For all I know, in his retirement
he’s still wearing them,
but I never see him anymore,
so I can’t be sure.
Mr. Rogers wore them.
Mr. Rogers wore them so well
that the cardigan sweater
almost became synonymous
with Mr. Rogers–if someone
showed you a picture of
a cardigan, or whipped one
out of their closet, you
would immediately think
Mr. Rogers. For me, it
was Rick Nielsen from the
band Cheap Trick and
maybe later the guy
from Weezer. In this context,
the cardigan was a rock
and roll statement.
Now, the cardigan is
all but invisible in the
world of fashion, but
shows up in a lyric,
Taylor Swift singing
that she feels like one,
an old cardigan forgotten
under someone’s bed.
I thought the cardigan
was dead so I started
this poem, an elegy to
the sweater. Of course,
I googled it. To my eyes,
the cardigan may have
disappeared, but in fact
there are thousands
of them on nearly
every conceivable
clothier website.
You can order one
right now, put it in
your closet, under
your bed, thinking
of Mr. Rogers, Rick
Nielsen, the guy from
Weezer, and Taylor.
Good company for
the sweater you will
probably never wear.
michael jarmer 