The Tattooed Poets Project: Josh Fernandez

Our next tattooed poet is <a href="http://www.josh-fernandez.com/">Josh Fernandez</a>, who estimates he is about 40% covered. "At this rate," he says, "I'll probably end up with just my natural face and the rest covered in ink." I am grateful to the poet <a href="http://www.timkahl.com/">Tim Kahl</a>, who is un-inked, for sending me Josh's way.<br /><br />I'll let Josh explain his work:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"It took a long time to cast aside my lust for drugs that seemed to plague me all the way up until my 30s. Even then, it wasn't until I began writing for publications that I realized I actually had a purpose and a shot at life.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">After burning out on journalism, I began teaching writing at a community college. It’s a career job, something I've never had before. In retrospect, I guess journalism was almost a real job, but it’s the clown car of professions, packed to the brim with wacky but ultimately depressing characters (addicts, sociopaths, egomaniacs, loudmouths, etc.). I fit in quite well. Teaching, however, is a different world entirely. For the most part, you need to be a professional, which, to be honest, I don’t even know what that means. I’m not sure where I fit.<br /><br />While I’m no longer a drug-addled wanderer, I still consider myself unprofessional—still kind of a fuckup. I suppose I tattooed my body to keep myself separated from the non-fuckups. On my fingers are the words “OUT OF STEP” with a picture of a little black sheep (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Royal-Peacock-Tattoo-Parlor/157554380944064">Royal Peacock</a>, Sacramento, CA)...</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8hw5ZDGb3cIX7dZgIDqsJfJPKX0QNRbUN3M-usMFgCPpzTILP1XFgjv4Jx1RF0bARW8eiWermcbaJJVDuwVammhWPWP2IueB_aLMXSIcPshgXCci_H4XDyImYRybr0ctJqxN4GJF3ow/s615/Minor+Threat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8hw5ZDGb3cIX7dZgIDqsJfJPKX0QNRbUN3M-usMFgCPpzTILP1XFgjv4Jx1RF0bARW8eiWermcbaJJVDuwVammhWPWP2IueB_aLMXSIcPshgXCci_H4XDyImYRybr0ctJqxN4GJF3ow/s320/Minor+Threat.png" width="239" /></a></div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">... a tribute to the hardcore band <a href="http://minorthreat.com/">Minor Threat</a>—an indicator of my place in society. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">On my hand is a cartoon version of my cat Loki, the chief of our house (<a href="http://www.vermininkandpaint.com/">Char Hall</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SideShowStudiosFan">Sideshow Studios</a>, Sacramento, CA):</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jYo-7NXhXGom4QGLv8quY1yUhhT69LmmBGNRCcV5md6oIuKepf7KOc_sTeD0BaN59TCeynASYKFwkp7MDnQvaobBGC6ZbcuCktSvfVk7IzCsB7oh3Y0g0LrCWot6JpZ_Anr4s-KFjxE/s615/Loki.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jYo-7NXhXGom4QGLv8quY1yUhhT69LmmBGNRCcV5md6oIuKepf7KOc_sTeD0BaN59TCeynASYKFwkp7MDnQvaobBGC6ZbcuCktSvfVk7IzCsB7oh3Y0g0LrCWot6JpZ_Anr4s-KFjxE/s640/Loki.png" width="542" /></a></div><blockquote class="tr_bq">On my inner calf is a portrait of <a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/155">Emily Dickinson</a> (<a href="http://www.capitalinktattoo.com/beau-mccoy.html">Beau McCoy</a>, <a href="http://www.capitalinktattoo.com/">Capital Ink Tattoo</a>, Sacramento, CA), a fearless writer who I believe to be one of the original punk rockers.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTVUNIh8Km8fC060hiKBthRfnBoKwU0EWYEm_tjIDX3tm9KNhttw14cOzwTwIS0isSJgcRrIp6cCxWswYqFyJ4zDrID-yFVl-2avb4q1Vq-hvVgwpk8BnTXJw064pPWY-QAS7ktop2Ck/s615/Dickinson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTVUNIh8Km8fC060hiKBthRfnBoKwU0EWYEm_tjIDX3tm9KNhttw14cOzwTwIS0isSJgcRrIp6cCxWswYqFyJ4zDrID-yFVl-2avb4q1Vq-hvVgwpk8BnTXJw064pPWY-QAS7ktop2Ck/s640/Dickinson.png" width="390" /></a></div><blockquote class="tr_bq">And on my forearm is a typewriter (<a href="http://www.tattoo13oakland.com/">Lucky 13</a>, Oakland, CA), a reminder that I have approximately one skill.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhv9MRAQlLU4dWfSDXrVJKh4yqv4I1UJQ07tjTHF58iDnHvdw8_f3s_kGkeZoVK4oIKcVRsD6KK-WaYBUcv1XCX1U4buh4p4unXWfsQNToQqGC2ST2TKDyFieu8ZZEOlFHm_F9Q_kf4gI/s615/Typewriter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhv9MRAQlLU4dWfSDXrVJKh4yqv4I1UJQ07tjTHF58iDnHvdw8_f3s_kGkeZoVK4oIKcVRsD6KK-WaYBUcv1XCX1U4buh4p4unXWfsQNToQqGC2ST2TKDyFieu8ZZEOlFHm_F9Q_kf4gI/s400/Typewriter.png" width="280" /></a></div><br />It's not often we get to share tattoos inspired by Emily Dickinson and a punk rock band in the same breath, so we were happy to post everything Josh sent our way.<br /><br />Josh also sent us several poems and I picked two.<br /><br /><b>The Addict</b><br /><br />He takes root<br />—feet, planted<br />firmly in the soil , kneeling<br />against the Earth,<br />banging until his fists<br />bloom<br />into tulips.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I really liked this longer poem, which appeared originally in <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0972295852/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0972295852&linkCode=as2&tag=bill03-20%22%3ESpare%20Parts%20and%20Dismemberment%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0972295852%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">Spare Parts and Dismemberment</a> (</i><a href="http://rlcrow.com/">R.L. Crow Publications</a>, 2011):<br /><br /><b>The Last Thing He Said</b><br /><br />“Be proud because we’re Mexicans,<br />and if they <br />don’t like it, just turn <br />your head and walk away.<br />If you haven’t noticed, mijo,<br />this world goes on<br />in every goddamn direction<br />whether you want it to<br />or not.” <br />And just like that <br />he was gone<br />—a trail of weed smoke and wisdom,<br />wagging into the horizon.<br /><br />And to this day, a scruffy <br />cholo with brown <br />skin and a bad leg <br />limps past<br />and my eyes sliver <br />like closed doors and I have to sit <br />down for a second—thoughts <br />rushing past, like speeding trains <br />in the night. <br /><br />It’s almost too much <br />to think of the gristly days,<br />that bus ride from Sacramento <br />to Boston where I sat, tweaked out,<br />for a week on a Greyhound,<br />too wired and poor to eat. <br />He waited at the station<br />for seven days with two black eyes,<br />a set of brass knuckles<br />and a warrant for his arrest.<br /><br />It’s too much to think <br />about when grandma<br />asked him to recite a prayer<br />and for the first time in 20 years<br />he put down his glass <br />and cried the way Mexicans do<br />when they find out there is <br />no God:<br /><br />Creo en el Espíritu Santo, <br />en la Santa Iglesia Católica,<br />la comunión de los Santos,<br />en el perdon de los pecados,<br />la resurrección de los muertos <br />y la vida eterna.<br /><br />And after that we wiped away<br />our tears, forgot how to speak Spanish<br />and got drunker<br />than we’d ever been,<br />spilling out of that <br />East Los apartment<br />into the world<br />like masses of hot lava<br />burning up our livers <br />till the frustrated sun <br />tucked itself <br />into the cool bed of morning. <br /><br />A life full of discarded things<br />is what we were given. Humans,<br />like old bibles, lie <br />tattered, dirty and useless.<br />I wonder what he is doing now<br />My father, the broken schitzo<br />who wore his sickness like <br />a neon coat.<br /><br />Walking through this shithole <br />of a city, <br />Nina Simone ripping<br />my heart out<br />through an old pair of headphones,<br />I watch a dirty black mutt<br />sitting in a junk yard <br />so stupid in his world <br />of chain link and bone scraps, <br />rags and old iron.<br /><br />If you were here I’d tell you I miss you<br />and that there’s not much news <br />save for a funny headline <br />telling us about some frumpy <br />rube in Arkansas who found <br />Mother Theresa’s tit <br />poking out of her pancake. <br />And, in this way, unwise and reckless, without you <br />unholy father,<br />if you haven’t noticed,<br />this world goes on in every goddamn direction, <br />whether you want it to<br />or not.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><br /><a href="http://www.josh-fernandez.com/">Josh Fernandez</a> was born in Denver, raised in Boston and now lives and works in Midtown Sacramento. He writes for <a href="http://www.spin.com/">Spin</a>, <a href="http://www.boulderweekly.com/">Boulder Weekly</a>, <a href="http://sacurrent.com/">San Antonio Current</a>, and the <a href="http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/home">Sacramento News & Review</a> and teaches writing at <a href="http://www.scc.losrios.edu/">Sacramento City College</a>. He was nominated for a <a href="http://www.pushcartprize.com/">Pushcart Prize</a> in 2011. Fernandez’s first, full-length collection of poems, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0972295852/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0972295852&linkCode=as2&tag=bill03-20%22%3ESpare%20Parts%20and%20Dismemberment%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0972295852%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">Spare Parts and Dismemberment</a>, is available from <a href="http://rlcrow.com/">R.L. Crow Publications</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMd2svdQfYECRx3-SRApUtWVbcMPw8GJKF8ZPKcbcfeDzn77Eetp5ykQZIca7UbZDkaLPn0HAJT3DUvSNaLyWrZofMQRmBRqou9SwEkOXBilEietu159slx9f15OAXkUD5ZTLA65ElbAE/s1600/Spare+Parts+and+Dismemberment.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMd2svdQfYECRx3-SRApUtWVbcMPw8GJKF8ZPKcbcfeDzn77Eetp5ykQZIca7UbZDkaLPn0HAJT3DUvSNaLyWrZofMQRmBRqou9SwEkOXBilEietu159slx9f15OAXkUD5ZTLA65ElbAE/s400/Spare+Parts+and+Dismemberment.JPG" width="271" /></a></div><br />Thanks to Josh for sharing his tattoos and poetry with us here on Tattoosday's Tattooed Poets Project!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><b id="internal-source-marker_0.4993943637236953" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday. The poems and tattoos are reprinted with the poet's permission.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></span></b>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Josh Fernandez

Our next tattooed poet is Josh Fernandez , who estimates he is about 40% covered. "At this rate," he says, "I'll probably...

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Emily's Typewriter

Last week, on Eighth Avenue, I spotted an incredible tattoo on the back of a woman's calf and knew that I had to speak to her about it. Check it out:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SQt_6ZCOMlHlKC02D1qLGrTgk0DFo6L0fh-aiDD7VpcbD-Tr7IMDimzjjLMzjwdZEu1ctasAq0-2TRRQEEXDmaWVhxFYJiOiqdRshmXnPfS50dWy4KIa0OO6YpPb2bbjs77oFmE2_7Q/s1600/emily+types.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SQt_6ZCOMlHlKC02D1qLGrTgk0DFo6L0fh-aiDD7VpcbD-Tr7IMDimzjjLMzjwdZEu1ctasAq0-2TRRQEEXDmaWVhxFYJiOiqdRshmXnPfS50dWy4KIa0OO6YpPb2bbjs77oFmE2_7Q/s640/emily+types.jpg" width="408" /></a></div><br />This vintage typewriter belongs to Emily, and was tattooed by one of my favorite artists in New York, <a href="http://virginiaelwood.wordpress.com/">Virginia Elwood</a> at <a href="http://www.nyadorned.com/home.htm">New York Adorned</a>. You can click the tag at the bottom of the post to see other work of Virginia's that I have been fortunate enough to spot in my Tattoosday travels.<br /><br />Emily explained that she is a writer, and wanted a vintage typewriter inked to represent her vocation. My guess she had decided on one of these <a href="http://www.machinesoflovinggrace.com/royals.htm">Royal</a> typewriters, and then Virginia worked her magic. Emily elaborates:<br /><blockquote><br />"I asked her originally to give me a little typewriter on top of the books here:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpErb9EJAMMi4f0dQbDCjy3OPDDvN-ayyqJex8XpiKdx927_2wyj0p5cm8vsqKbChQSXJZN6joIWj99KZhu0sYzxHlRj0BA9xUOeYIKr5Xge-zlZE4z7PZBhRsa36PhOolZDaI_DUryM/s1600/Emilys+books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpErb9EJAMMi4f0dQbDCjy3OPDDvN-ayyqJex8XpiKdx927_2wyj0p5cm8vsqKbChQSXJZN6joIWj99KZhu0sYzxHlRj0BA9xUOeYIKr5Xge-zlZE4z7PZBhRsa36PhOolZDaI_DUryM/s400/Emilys+books.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />but there wasn't enough room ... [Virginia] was like <i>It'll be too small if I put it on your arm, we'll have to do a big one to get the best detail</i>."</blockquote>The rest, as they say, is history.<br /><br />Emily has nine tattoos in all, counting a half-sleeve as one large piece, and all of her work has been done by Virginia.<br /><br />Emily is managing editor for a website called <a href="http://www.xojane.com/">xoJane</a>, and has even written about her tattoos. She directed me to <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2ABM4y/www.xojane.com/sex/my-tattoos-make-guys-think-im-easy">this article</a> she recently wrote, called "<a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2ABM4y/www.xojane.com/sex/my-tattoos-make-guys-think-im-easy">My Tattoos Make Guys Think I'm Easy</a>." She's got a smart style that really taps into the heart and soul of the subject. I'm sure many tattooed women can relate to the sentiment in that piece. She also pointed to a <a href="http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/ny-ink-megan-massacre-sexism">more current article</a> she wrote, with some input from Virginia, as well, about <a href="http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/ny-ink-megan-massacre-sexism">sexism in tattoo shops</a>, specifically with the drama in the premiere (and subsequent episodes) of the latest tattoo reality series, <a href="http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/ny-ink"><i>New York Ink</i></a>.<br /><br />I, for one, certainly recommend checking out Emily's site, <a href="http://www.xojane.com/">xoJane</a>, and exploring not only her contributions, but those of the other writers, as well.<br /><br />Thanks to Emily for sharing her incredible work with us here on Tattoosday, and for talking with me, even though she was running late. I do appreciate it and hope we'll see more of her tattoos here in the future!<br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. </span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

Emily's Typewriter

Last week, on Eighth Avenue, I spotted an incredible tattoo on the back of a woman's calf and knew that I had to speak to her about it. ...

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The Tattooed Poets Project: Claire Nelson

Well, dear readers, I've been waiting to post this next tattoo for over a year, ever since <a href="http://www.doriannelaux.com/">Dorianne Laux</a> posted it on her Facebook wall last April and directed me to it. This amazing tattoo belongs to Claire Nelson. Behold:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BU4K5rofBJIntIe3EhDkCjtdUDrxrBqWFxb3NCu33S9MfPf9g5NyX9ZGAIKrO9TIKR11xIs249ervyf1xq4OCtFpY5qUPbwGizkeXzdTy6m311vNFOJKGoSa_FEGU7XzkcRktUs7hmU/s1600/typewriter+artist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BU4K5rofBJIntIe3EhDkCjtdUDrxrBqWFxb3NCu33S9MfPf9g5NyX9ZGAIKrO9TIKR11xIs249ervyf1xq4OCtFpY5qUPbwGizkeXzdTy6m311vNFOJKGoSa_FEGU7XzkcRktUs7hmU/s640/typewriter+artist.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><br />This photo was taken shortly after the tattoo was done by artist <a href="http://laughinghyena.wordpress.com/">Ron Henry Wells</a>, who graciously allowed me to copy it from his site and reprint it here. He noted that he "used a antique typewriter that [he owns] as reference". He was also swift to point out that the picture's not that great, as the curve of Claire's thigh makes the tattoo look a little warped, but he swears it is straight. I would beg to differ, as the photo really captures the beauty of the tattoo and the wonderful artifice of the tattooist.<br /><br />Claire sent me a newer photo for a slightly different perspective:<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span data-jsid="text"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPD1Pmxow7uyv3_ydWTFyPSJHnnGtg3GpF1VP7nSd7viveR8QVLaN7-dKKe4DPfX3_XfPCe0oD5RwxIza-vfbTfyPmvSpJeJZCQKCQabKJr2hTEZV4Ep1A0VTivBcik_ziJkqK2w4qXY/s1600/typewriter+poet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPD1Pmxow7uyv3_ydWTFyPSJHnnGtg3GpF1VP7nSd7viveR8QVLaN7-dKKe4DPfX3_XfPCe0oD5RwxIza-vfbTfyPmvSpJeJZCQKCQabKJr2hTEZV4Ep1A0VTivBcik_ziJkqK2w4qXY/s400/typewriter+poet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Claire explains this incredible tattoo:<br /><blockquote>"I love writing, tattoos and typewriters. When I met with <a href="http://laughinghyena.wordpress.com/">Ron</a> at <a href="http://www.anonymoustattoo.com/">Anonymous Tattoo</a> in Savannah, Georgia, he seemed as psyched about doing my tattoo as I was about getting it. Ron asked a few simple questions. “How do you feel about birds?” I felt good. “Flowers?” I also had positive feelings about flowers. And then, we were off. Two sessions and some intense pain later, I came out with this amazing tattoo. Writing will always be part of my life, and now so will this tattoo."</blockquote>Claire also shared this poem: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><strong>Kazoo Serenade</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br />The last nice thing you said to me</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Your breath smells<br />like vodka,” </i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">as I hummed at you</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">through a kazoo. <br />It was an</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">original composition;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">maybe not</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">technically</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> perfect—</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I wasn’t concerned </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">with mechanics.<br />Who needs rules</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">when there are kazoos in the world? <br /><br />I did an accompanying jig</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">on a cracked patch</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">of sidewalk.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Why is cement </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">always damp<br />on summer nights? It made such a </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">satisfying smack </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">against my bare-feet,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">cool and wet,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">like the familiar kiss</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">of a person I rarely see.<br /><br />I could have danced circles around you</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">all night </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">until we were both too dizzy to know</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">melody from moment,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">beauty from spit and plastic. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead, I unbuttoned <br />the pocket</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">on your shirt, and slipped the kazoo inside.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I don’t need retrospect</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">to tell me</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">you don’t deserve </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">a kazoo serenade. Oh I wish</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">it was about deserve</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">and not desire. </span></div></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal">~ ~ ~</div><div class="MsoNormal">Claire Nelson is a senior Dramatic Writing major at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. After graduation Claire will be moving to Tallahassee to pursue her M.F.A. in poetry at Florida State University. </div><br /><br />As for Ron, he is currently working out of the Boston area, but occasionally is a guest artist at <a href="http://www.threekingstattoo.com/site/">Three Kings Tattoo</a> in Brooklyn.<br /><br />Thanks to Claire for sharing one of the best tattoos we have seen in this year's Tattooed Poets Project, and for sharing her poetry as well, here on Tattoosday.<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Claire Nelson

Well, dear readers, I've been waiting to post this next tattoo for over a year, ever since Dorianne Laux posted it on her Facebook wall...

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