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The 101 Uses of a Cravat

The “Before” picture of a necktie. A bandage
to staunch the blood. If it’s black, an armband
for mourning. If it’s red, an armband for war.
To welcome the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe to
inhabit your body as his host. A lobster bib.
A tourniquet. To appear epicurean when
polishing apples. Magic tricks. A blindfold.
A gag. An ice pack. Insulation for a heat wrap.
A superhero cape for cats. The wick to turn
a magnum bottle into a molotov cocktail. Tied
between two branches to make a giant fairy
hammock. Refined napkins. The eternal
death shroud for a tiny ghost. Polishing
silver. A mask to disguise the lower half of
the face before robbing stagecoaches. A mask
to disguise the upper half of the face before
setting out on a journey of vigilante justice.
A dishrag. A hair-tie. To communicate with
negotiators during a hostage situation. A
hand towel for the guest bathroom. A bag
to capture farts. A handkerchief. A bandana.
A doll sarong. An arm sling. A headcovering.
A diaper. A belt. A bind for wrists. A bind
for ankles. To wipe fingerprints off of a
murder weapon. A sack for carrying all
of your worldly possessions on the end of
a stick. To signal drivers at the start of a race.
A sweatband. A headband. To clean smudges
off glasses. A porthole curtain. Something
to wring in your fists. To hide from God’s
sight while dining on ortolans. An extra-
long, flowy watchband. A kite. To protect
your sleeve when pouring champagne. To
protect your hand when christening a boat.
To protect your knuckles when punching
a window. An elegant way to display gang
affiliation. A sail for a toy sailboat. A cloth
to dab soda on a fresh stain. Stuffed inside
a cowboy hat to keep it from sliding down.
A menstruation pad. Something to wave
tearfully from the dock at a departing ship.
Something to wave excitedly from a train
window at a vanishing platform. Something
to wave limply while moaning on a fainting
sofa. To scrub off lipstick. To detect infidelity.
To mop sweat. To give surrender. An over-
sized tissue. An insufficient blanket. To enter
in a three legged race. A rope to play tug of
war with a dog. An oven mitt. A placemat.
An antimacassar to preserve the upholstery.
A teatowel. A manuterge. A chihuahua toga.
A doily. A bonnet for sleeping. A baby turban.
An ochipok. For secreting gold coins to ensure
the fortune teller never sees the money before
the reading. For covering a small item to unveil
with a “Voila!”. A chaperon. To participate in
a folk dance at a wedding party in the Balkans
To camouflage a scorch mark on your second
best muslin frock. A keepsake to strategically
drop before a knight parading at a tournament.
A temporary fix for a broken pipe. To stop up
a sink. To plug a toilet. To secure a busted
tailpipe to the bumper. To remove a searing
radiator cap. To prevent directly touching
anything in a gas station bathroom. A seat
cover on a bus. Something to press against
your mouth to muffle screams. Something
to cry into. A conversation starter. A swathe
to ward off colpo d’aria. A prop for playing
peek-a-boo with a toddler. Something to lay
over a dead mouse so you don’t have to look
at it. In an absolute emergency, toilet paper.
A dust cloth for the moldering TV screen and
the top of the printer. To bundle the snake pit of
charger cables. A nest for an egg found on the
sidewalk. An item to leave behind when you
need an excuse. A flag to alert passing planes
when marooned on a deserted tropical island.
And to blot excess ink off a sharpened quill.

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E.R. Davis is a poet, instructor, and Midwesterner who resides in Chicago, with frequent long stays in the Abruzzo region of Italy. She creates both computer animated and frame by frame animations of her poetry that she shares across various social media platforms in hopes to connect poetry with audiences in the digital era. Social media: www.youtube.com/@PoemsandOtherCaveats — www.tiktok.com/@erd.89821.