I Tied my Cravat like a Jackass

                                           I used to think the cravat was

simply a statement of how much one wanted to die.

A noose or

choker or

some kind of symbolic BS

Put-the-killing-thing-in-your-mouth sort of thing

 

I spent most summers       on      our dock

reeling in - my line - a little too often

hoping I'd catch a          bite of something worth killing

Never thinking

                           I'd catch anything

                                    but

                                    fish

 

My dad use to make costumes - for us - every Halloween

                    He'd add lace to my sleeves and buttons on my breast

                               He'd put a feather in my cap and tie my cravat

 

He sat in the rocking chair up a hill from our dock

              He used to tell me reel slower

That maybe I'd catch something if I was patience

                                              How patience I am now

Only not to have caught anything but my own tongue