Watch, Listen, Read draft and sew - Remi Graves draft and sew A collar is like a fatherit has to be made separatelydrafted, cut then sown onto the larger garmentit must be pre-washed and dried,trimmed then ironed before attachmentso as not to shrink or misshape the shirt.In the picture I am mis-rememberingwe are on a bridge all dressed in white for our family’s funeralmy father in a collarless shirt, crisp, well ironedall the grief he’d yet to visit buttoned up, but casual.Nicknamed the Father killer for its rigidity,the removable collar was invented by an 1820s housewifewanting to lessen her laundry load,the trend eventually went out of fashionbut I’d argue a detachable father has its perksfor example in this old photowe are on a bridge all six of us embracingresting on one another the way love insists you do,always wanting to touch a part of who you need.How much easier it would beto unbutton him from my memory,push what’s keeping him clasped to the imageout of two neat holesdrop him gently into the lonely river beneath Poem by Remi Graves, commissioned by Poet in the City, University of Liverpool and Loughborough University as part of Poets in Vogue.