Summary

In “Tommy,” a poem, Tommy died in 1969 of leukemia. Tommy’s parents held a reception after the funeral. They went home after the reception, but Tommy’s friends went to 110 North Main. They smoked and listened to music.

They agreed Tommy’s parents had done a good job on the funeral. They had given Tommy most of what he asked for. He was dressed in bell-bottom jeans and a tie-dye shirt. He was wearing his headband with the peace sign, but Indian Scontras noticed that Tommy was not wearing his special button. The narrator said Tommy’s mother hid it under his vest. The button stated: “I’m here and I’m queer” (367). The man said Tommy’s mother should have left the button in sight because Tommy was proud of his homosexuality.

The narrator noted that Indian turned out not to be homosexual...