Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)

The Tattooed Poets Project: Karla Linden

Today's tattooed poet just missed the boat last year, contacting me after the month had already filled up. So, technically, <a href="http://www.karlalinden.com/">Karla Linden</a>, has waited the longest to see her contribution make it into the Tattooed Poets Project. Check out what she has offered up:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJGOrleRX2_vdx6WCPRaNWDkDD_doplSsWhqZ2JuXTq3ImL_OGIjPg8qYV49C8vQkq-S3c9AYnEeWrflpgUNT6Nysy6KpErB2Zi1sS_I2mE5uArMPAZC_-ZbcRKtTgXv-zMwdWhqlhU0/s1600/hamsasubmission.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJGOrleRX2_vdx6WCPRaNWDkDD_doplSsWhqZ2JuXTq3ImL_OGIjPg8qYV49C8vQkq-S3c9AYnEeWrflpgUNT6Nysy6KpErB2Zi1sS_I2mE5uArMPAZC_-ZbcRKtTgXv-zMwdWhqlhU0/s640/hamsasubmission.jpg" width="330" /></a></div><br />Well worth the wait, if you ask me!<br /><br />Karla explains:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"This tattoo is a sacred symbol called a '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsa">Hamsa</a>' or 'Hand of Miriam' - it is traditionally for protection and also as a reminder of the five senses, melding in to a Sixth Sense.  Richie Castillo of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Timebomb-Tattoos-SA/150950058253934">Time Bomb Tattoo</a> in San Antonio, Texas did it for me in June of 2010, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I live."</span></blockquote>We've had several hamsa on Tattoosday before, but this one is certainly the most colorful and vibrant!<br /><br />Karla also contributed this poem:<br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">For the Further Progression of Literary Domination</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">* * * * * *<br /><br />"Bind her wrists with<br />typewriter ribbons<br /><br />and<br /><br />tattoo<br /><span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(240, 159, 129) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #222222;">Anais</span> <span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(240, 159, 129) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #222222;">Nin</span><br />quotes on<br />her thighs."<br /><br />Blindfolded,<br />they pull you down<br />on the bed<br /><br />newsprint laid out<br />underneath you<br /><br />and<br /><br />the needle<br />buzzes.<br /><br />Words form on flesh in between the silence:<br /><br /><i>Dreams are necessary to life.</i><br /><br />then<br /><br /><i>Each contact with a human being is so rare,<br />so precious,<br />one should preserve it. </i><br /><br />in <span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%; border: 1pt solid black; color: black; padding: 0in;">Courier</span> typeface,<br />letter by letter<br /><br />You wish this dream would never end,<br />that<br />the pressure of her hands,<br />her mouth on yours<br />and<br />the hot tattoo needle<br />raising a welt<br />with each stroke<br />would go on 'til dawn.</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~ </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.karlalinden.com/">Karla Linden</a>, NMT, LMT (www.KarlaLinden.com) is a writer and massage therapist, living in New Mexico. She has over 130 hours "under the needle" and is both a tattoo and poetry enthusiast.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNZUKGsT73eqMSVGoGWYK16aLYFh3HPbwJCBqmKjFl3DaNRMTJlOBm5Ubc9LCLtdSowlpoqzBr8470bC7b2YsoszW5tXX9ZC_SxS86YR9PkGbIpqsHNZaSXxCBM1Z7eh3TraOqT5WNKo/s1600/grinding+ink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNZUKGsT73eqMSVGoGWYK16aLYFh3HPbwJCBqmKjFl3DaNRMTJlOBm5Ubc9LCLtdSowlpoqzBr8470bC7b2YsoszW5tXX9ZC_SxS86YR9PkGbIpqsHNZaSXxCBM1Z7eh3TraOqT5WNKo/s320/grinding+ink.jpg" width="208" /></a></div> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">"<a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1213083">Grinding Ink</a>" and "<a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1144156?alt=Which+Makes+Me+Love+Her+Even+More%2C+as+listed+under+Poetry">Which Makes Me Love Her Even More</a>", 2 of her poetry books, came out in 2010.  She always has plans for more poems, and more tattoos.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Thanks so much to Karla for her patience, her poetry, and her tattoo! We appreciate your contribution here on Tattoosday!</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />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="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> 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 style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Karla Linden

Today's tattooed poet just missed the boat last year, contacting me after the month had already filled up. So, technically, Karla Linden...

3:05 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Joy Leftow

Today's tattooed poet is <a href="http://joyleftowsblog.blogspot.com/">Joy Leftow</a>, who offers up this tattoo on her upper right arm (and part of her shoulder):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CNHD8HiYSQllVdM-kvv-06j5gN18fzNUAeFEgIx-ncfitevpfsyqHXhg3knxwe7_a0KobDeDkiWJw4dECaphI4Os-DjzUODVLYW4m_UlW7x3SF79E23JNnxvDnYhm4N5TmAKn_eyvh4/s1600/violet+writes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CNHD8HiYSQllVdM-kvv-06j5gN18fzNUAeFEgIx-ncfitevpfsyqHXhg3knxwe7_a0KobDeDkiWJw4dECaphI4Os-DjzUODVLYW4m_UlW7x3SF79E23JNnxvDnYhm4N5TmAKn_eyvh4/s400/violet+writes.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />Joy explains the story behind this tattoo:<br /><br /><blockquote><div>The tattoo is my alter ego - not only <a href="http://www.eminem.com/">Eminem</a> has one. I had a very tumultuous and crazy childhood, so that I ended up dropping out of high school is no surprise. What is a surprise is that I now have 2 masters degrees, 1 in social work from Columbia, where I also attended undergrad for free in a special program geared towards helping the educationally and financially disadvantaged....out of the 11 people I began the program with, only me and one other gal made it through to graduation. Thus the importance of books in the tattoo, which represent knowledge and learning. I was always an avid reader and this turned to be my saving grace. But Columbia is a bitch and very competitive and wasn't exactly easy for a high school dropout. My other masters is in creative writing and is from CCNY, because once you're a working person, nothing is free, and CCNY is affordable. I'm very sorry to see the days of opportunities for the disadvantaged pass by and now one must work hard to find any remaining ones.</div><div><br /></div><a href="http://www.dreamlandcreations.net/">Myke Maldonado</a> from <a href="http://dreamlandcreations.com/" target="_blank">Dreamland Creations</a> [in Stroudsburg, PA] is my inker. Myke is famous for torturing people so that your ink will last forever. He also has some fame as a comic book illustrator and for his erotic art comics. I chose him because my son is totally inked by Myke. I know that Myke sits and takes his time to make the creation a by product of dialogue and collaboration. If he wouldn't have moved his ass around the country so much, he'd be a lot more famous. You can't find a better or more responsive inker. Love Myke!</blockquote><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Joy offers us this poem:</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6058251288236499429" name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6058251288236499429" name="OLE_LINK1">  </a><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Ramblings Of A Dead Poet Revived</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m your dream that drama queen you wanna be because you’re too damn scared on your own</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">so you talk about me – </div><div class="MsoNormal">My life shot and framed at every angle, a show and tell story of gory glory </div><div class="MsoNormal">A fit of reality TV evening drama </div><div class="MsoNormal">Me, an item to be discussed while you pine away</div><div class="MsoNormal">dismay pitted against your boring display of ridicule and scorn</div><div class="MsoNormal">a fine young thing wasted by the sideline of fate </div><div class="MsoNormal">a doorstep away</div><div class="MsoNormal">from where I stand </div><div class="MsoNormal">another miserable life invites me in</div><div class="MsoNormal">inciting an indictment in flight with a slight itch on the right side</div><div class="MsoNormal">another spiteful blight, pitiful, truly a fight to recite in the red light district of my mind</div><div class="MsoNormal">be polite do a rewrite be an anchor of light at first sight, sit tight</div><div class="MsoNormal">stay upright, only a bit contrite that my</div><div class="MsoNormal">knight in shining armor is all in my head</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have a legal right so join me in breaking bread maybe</div><div class="MsoNormal">Tempt you to try a</div><div class="MsoNormal">glass of organic Oregon Chardonnay instead</div><div class="MsoNormal">my life can’t be that exciting that you spend your time wondering when I do what I do and how I do it why do you care about my theatre life on the big screen </div><div class="MsoNormal">my life’s a Sartre amphitheatre</div><div class="MsoNormal">play and I am the spectre at the center of the fuss</div><div class="MsoNormal">I reminisce I exist</div><div class="MsoNormal">the bliss a swiss-chocolate kiss amiss to a soul kiss</div><div class="MsoNormal">the calypso discussion</div><div class="MsoNormal">I disinvite you to an airtight conclusion</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt;">~  ~ ~</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 8pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">In addition, we have an additional vision of Joy performing one of her poems:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9nIQmkeCVKk" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br /><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Joy Leftow is a double alumna from Columbia U with a second Master’s from CCNY in creative writing. Her blog </span><span style="font-size: small;">has over 27000 facebook followers and </span><span style="font-size: small;">can be relished at:<i> <a href="http://joyleftowsblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003ea0;">http://joyleftowsblog.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</span></a></i></span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">She’s been featured on <a href="http://www.rocklandworldradio.com/">Rockland Internet Radio</a>, <a href="http://www.indiefeedpp.libsyn.com/">Indie Feed</a>, <a href="http://www.jazzpoetrycafe.net/">Jazz Poetry Café</a> and Everything Goes. Leftow’s honesty and openness may astonish you or embarrass you, but she promises not to bore you.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Her book, <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0917455509/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0917455509%22%3ESpot%20of%20Bleach%20&%20Other%20Poems%20and%20Prose%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0917455509%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E">A Spot of Bleach</a>,</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> is available at Amazon.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0917455509" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br />Thanks to Joy for sharing her tattoo and her words with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />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="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> 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 style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Joy Leftow

Today's tattooed poet is Joy Leftow , who offers up this tattoo on her upper right arm (and part of her shoulder): Joy explains the stor...

2:56 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Puma Perl

<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">It is with great pleasure that we present another tattooed poet, <a href="http://pumaperl.blogspot.com/">Puma Perl</a>. She offered up this beautiful tattoo:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY63ny_YkRQg9GLKrG1YzBKfDMDExQxbSzVucU1nPOwmnyfPVwQ7XZKFSewWTqHMsmsQm2yqEi6H_TtQJfUb5cTCoMujUCbZtfoRqxfuUvLqxkq_Kl2ZEyF1ZV6mitOP_abjaKtYL0Fr4/s1600/mermaidstas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY63ny_YkRQg9GLKrG1YzBKfDMDExQxbSzVucU1nPOwmnyfPVwQ7XZKFSewWTqHMsmsQm2yqEi6H_TtQJfUb5cTCoMujUCbZtfoRqxfuUvLqxkq_Kl2ZEyF1ZV6mitOP_abjaKtYL0Fr4/s400/mermaidstas.jpg" width="375" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tattoo by Emma Griffiths, Photo by Stas Nuke</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">We'll let Puma talk about this great piece: </span></span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">"Everything of importance in my life has involved <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coney_Island">Coney Island</a>. As the developers moved in and the city became more and more a playground for wealthy transplants, I knew I wanted to pay homage with a tattoo. I love the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coney_Island_Mermaid_Parade">Mermaid Parade</a> and the <a href="http://www.wonderwheel.com/">Wonder Wheel</a>, so envisioned a mermaid with the Wonder Wheel in the background. A friend of mine happened to give me a magnet that she had bought at <a href="http://www.lolastar.com/">Lola Starr</a> on the boardwalk (<a href="http://www.lolastar.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;">http://www.lolastar.com/</span></a>) and I used that as the basic shape, changing the tattoo on the mermaid’s arm to a tiny replica of one of mine. I’d wanted to add my eyeglasses, but it was too tiny a detail. I contacted the amazing <a href="http://www.porcupinetattoo.com/emma.html">Emma Griffiths</a>, <a href="http://www.porcupinetattoo.com/about.html%20">Porcupine Tattoo</a>, 31 Norman Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, <a href="http://www.porcupinetattoo.com/about.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;"></span></a>and made an appointment for a consultation. I brought the magnet and a photo of the Wonder Wheel and we collaborated. Emma drew our vision of the Wonder Wheel in the background and modeled her mermaid on the magnet."</div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Puma, as is the custom, also shared a poem. She commented that her poem is "</span></span>about the Mermaid Parade, which also mentions <a href="http://www.chachasofconeyisland.com/">Cha Cha’s</a>, which was slated to be torn down but was recently granted one last season, along with 8 other unofficial Boardwalk landmarks." She also noted that "this poem was previously published in the<a href="http://www.examiner.com/coney-island-in-new-york/nikki-jo-grossman"> Coney Island Examiner</a>, along with several other poems about Coney Island." You can read all of them <a href="http://www.examiner.com/coney-island-in-new-york/poetry-of-puma-perl%20">here</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>The Best Day of the Year</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We hung out on the roof at Cha Cha’s</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">watching the Mermaid Parade. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>This is my favorite day of the year</i>,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">said Danny, snapping pictures</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">with a camera recently lifted</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">from the trunk of a Buick.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>They need Mambo Mermaids</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I said, as Zombie Mermaids,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">and Vampire Mermaids</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">sauntered by. He ignored me,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">entranced by glittery pasties</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">and hundreds of tits.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I had met Danny at the Siren Festival.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>You can be my Coney Island Baby</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">was the first thing he told me,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">while the New York Dolls played.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We danced straight down Surf Avenue,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">all the way to Seagate where he rented</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">a room from a bunch of rabbis.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We’d been together almost a year.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">You don’t need calendars on the boardwalk,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">time is measured by cyclone screams,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">sideshows, and wooden horses,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">by two shadows on the sand,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">by memories of striped chairs,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">and thunderbolt rides.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We climbed down the stairs.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Danny tried to steal an antique car</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">but nobody took him seriously.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Coney Island kids paraded in wigs</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">left behind by drunken mermaids,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">who now littered the street,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">pasties lost, and breasts drooping.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>This is the best day of the year</i>,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">said Danny, as we drank warm beer</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">and headed towards the after- parties.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We were never invited, but it was the best</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">day of the year, and we weren’t worried</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">about a thing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>© puma perl, 4/13/09</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">~ ~ ~</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">I want to interject that this poem coincidentally hearkens back to a very fortuitous day in the history of Tattoosday. For it was on July 21, 2007, when I attended the Siren Festival, the same day mentioned in the poem, when the first seeds of the Tattoosday concept began to sprout in my brain. For it was on that day, when we saw the New York Dolls, that I spotted a Keith Haring tattoo and started to connect the idea of asking about someone's tattoo, and blogging about it. Ten days later, the <a href="http://oxypoet.blogspot.com/2007/07/introducing-tattoosday.html">first Tattoosday post</a> came to life. My recap of that day in Coney Island is recapped <a href="http://oxypoet.blogspot.com/2007/07/coney-island-siren-festival-sunset.html">here</a>, on <a href="http://oxypoet.blogspot.com/">BillyBlog</a>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"></div><br /><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Puma Perl is a NYC-based writer, performance artist, and curator. Her poetry and fiction have been published in over 100 print and online journals and anthologies. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Y2mMtS08d40tjVxjeycnAnOL2WnojfJUwy0A6bV7d6RIbHl-Myu9qaSIDbR3ncYcKCY8xKlxWew0v3yT3Jq5vpi6o2xFvcE_FiNc9WaX86rhIoBuxqTOdFesXAcsW6BiQjG3v2NrlW0/s1600/belinda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Y2mMtS08d40tjVxjeycnAnOL2WnojfJUwy0A6bV7d6RIbHl-Myu9qaSIDbR3ncYcKCY8xKlxWew0v3yT3Jq5vpi6o2xFvcE_FiNc9WaX86rhIoBuxqTOdFesXAcsW6BiQjG3v2NrlW0/s1600/belinda.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />She is the author of the award-winning chapbook, <a href="http://www.erbacce-press.com/#/puma-perl/4531745901"><i>Belinda and Her Friends</i></a>, and a full length collection, <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1906588643/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1906588643%22%3EKnuckle%20Tattoos%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1906588643%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E">knuckle tattoos</a>.</i>  <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WXxWBKRqZvMTwj4_fBGznhIh9pIS0IRheqvGfzCuAp-dSgPPtSWCTJlCZFsHT-6vnOKKES-Y3AWJiMhCzKXlRLzIzPdzXsJ7BHx1mcdJYen-lJQkBnQ8IJ8h6NHy6y0ZaGjNf-6vCPY/s1600/knuckle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WXxWBKRqZvMTwj4_fBGznhIh9pIS0IRheqvGfzCuAp-dSgPPtSWCTJlCZFsHT-6vnOKKES-Y3AWJiMhCzKXlRLzIzPdzXsJ7BHx1mcdJYen-lJQkBnQ8IJ8h6NHy6y0ZaGjNf-6vCPY/s1600/knuckle.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;">She lives and writes on the Lower East Side and has facilitated writing workshops in community based agencies and at Riker’s Island, a NYC prison. She is a founding member of DDAY Productions, which presents poetry and performance events. Link to her blog for info about book purchases and events: <a href="http://pumaperl.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;">http://pumaperl.blogspot.com/</span></a></span><span style="color: purple; font-size: small;">.</span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: purple; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: small;">Thanks to Puma for sharing her awesome tattoo and poem here on Tattoosday, on the Tattooed Poets Project! Remember, all contributors, including those from 2009 and 2010, are indexed <a href="http://tattooedpoets.blogspot.com/2010/03/index-of-tattooed-poets.html">here</a>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: xx-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />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><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; 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></span>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Puma Perl

It is with great pleasure that we present another tattooed poet, Puma Perl . She offered up this beautiful tattoo: Tattoo by Emma Griffiths,...

3:17 AM

The Tattooed

The Tattooed

2:16 AM

It's National Poetry Month!

It's National Poetry Month!

It's another April here on Tattoosday, which means its another installment of the Tattooed Poets Project. For thirty days in April, we ...

6:38 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Michael Henry Lee

Today's tattoo was submitted by Michael Henry Lee:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLViE3VKXMI9SZRNBfESZHgv-wbhPI7YrmuluPTpI1PkQJEirym3kAQb3NWpXZrQf23NZc64K3cLLNmBv1yU5AwMLdgtHhXADg2zPA4kudzB_6mKRy_oJ_g09JBLcMGEag_UCNdy8vaN0/s1600/michael+henry+lee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLViE3VKXMI9SZRNBfESZHgv-wbhPI7YrmuluPTpI1PkQJEirym3kAQb3NWpXZrQf23NZc64K3cLLNmBv1yU5AwMLdgtHhXADg2zPA4kudzB_6mKRy_oJ_g09JBLcMGEag_UCNdy8vaN0/s400/michael+henry+lee.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Michael Henry Lee</td></tr></tbody></table>There's a lot going on here, so let's let Michael explain:<br /><br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">"The work pictured began about 36 years ago in Kansas City, Mo. I only remember the artist's name as John. The piece started with the stylized exotic bird's head that John took credit for as his own. A few years later I found the same piece on the back of a <a href="http://www.mountainrockband.com/">Mountain</a> album cover. Imagine. Fast forward a couple of decades to a fantastic shop [<a href="http://soulexpressionstattoo.com/home.html">Soul Expressions Tattoo Studio</a>] in Temecula Ca. and an artist named <a href="http://soulexpressionstattoo.com/section/182964_Daniel_Adair.html">Dan Adair</a>. The sun and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_of_Judah">Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah</a> were added there. The sun was David's design and the Lion comes from the Ethiopian flag borrowed from a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Marley_%26_The_Wailers">Bob Marley</a> album. The conceptual idea was mine and is meant to be symbolic of the Christian trinity: Father (as the sun), the Son (as the Conquering Lion) and our old buddy the bird (as the holy spirit). The seven is symbolic of the biblical number of completion and is repeated three times. The piece was just retouched and colored last year in Saint Augustine, Florida, by Tattoo Mike from <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=9gG&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=tattoo+garden+st+augustine+fl&fb=1&gl=us&hq=tattoo+garden&hnear=St+Augustine,+FL&cid=570080614392525222">Tattoo Garden</a>."</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></div></blockquote>Michael also offered up several short poems, including some haiku:<br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">"tattoo impressions"</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">    van goes home </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">stepping out in a starry night    </span></b><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">first appeared in graffiti kolkata Aug 2010)</span></b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">~ </span></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">tattoo garden</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> the blush returns</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> to mother's rose</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">~</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What Love’s Got to do with It</span></u><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It was rumored of late</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">that Love;</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">is suffering from a stolen identity</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Eros has hacked into Agape</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">like the evil twin exchanged at birth;</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">     Ying for Yang</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">           The Pauper for the Prince</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                    Cain for Abel</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The imposter has taken control</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">using seduction and guile</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">to manipulate the hearts and minds </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">of whoever might be deceived</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love’s calling all investors</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Setting the record straight</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Distancing itself from a nefarious sibling</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love does not </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">          sell cars, clothes, food, or personal hygiene products</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love knows</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">          the grass isn’t greener in the next field,</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">          and besides brown is highly underrated anyway</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love always makes deposits</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">          but not withdrawals</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love is patient as water</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">          smoothing stone           </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love knows the worst</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">          but hopes for the best</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love bites its tongue and swallows its pride</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love looks at the heart</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">          not: boobs, biceps, or bank accounts</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love is the first one into a burning building </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">          an the last one off a sinking ship</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love builds </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">         Marriages</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">             Families</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                  and  Nations </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                                                            </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love is an invisible necessity</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">         like  time, gravity, and oxygen</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Love is beyond time and space</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Eternal</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Unconditional</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                          a</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                         gift</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                    a promise</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">            one poured out for all  </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                     that they</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                       might</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                        know</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                         that</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                         God</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                           is</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                           L</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                           O</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                           V</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Bodoni MT","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">                           E</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">"What Love's Got to do with It" first appeared in <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heart-Pour-The-Love-Book/195634107114411?sk=wall">Heart Pour The Love Book</a> from <a href="http://poetplant.blogspot.com/">Poet Plant Press</a>, 2011</span></b></span></i></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">~</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Michael Henry Lee is a husband, father and grandfather. He and his wife of 30 years reside in St.   Augustine, Florida; the nation’s oldest city, along with two cats, and numerous bonsai trees.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Michael is a member of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ancient-City-Poets/279133290875?sk=wall">Ancient City Poets</a> and the <a href="http://www.hsa-haiku.org/">Haiku Society of America</a>. The last Sunday of every month generally finds him at the Heart Pour Matinee; an open mic poetry reading that features seasoned artists as well as new talents. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Mr. Lee serves as contributing co-editor for Poet Plant Press, and is a frequent contributor to <a href="http://haikunews.org/">Haiku News</a>, and Haiku Ramblings. His work has appeared in <a href="http://cobaltcrowproductions.blogspot.com/">Berry Blue Haiku</a>, and <a href="http://www.graffitikolkata.com/home.htm">Graffiti Kolkata</a> He was voted among the favorites in the 2009 <i>Alibi Weekly</i> annual haiku contest, and was awarded third place prize in the Yukei Teikei Annual Tokutomi Haiku Contest for 2010.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">Mr. Lee is quoted as saying “my objective is to express the good news and mystery of life in every breath, through the simplicity of haiku”.</div><br />Thanks to Michael Henry Lee for sharing his tattoo and his work with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poems are reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />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"><span style="color: blue;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></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>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Michael Henry Lee

Today's tattoo was submitted by Michael Henry Lee: Photo courtesy of Michael Henry Lee There's a lot going on here, so let's let...

5:38 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Lorraine Conlin

Today's tattooed poet is Lorraine Conlin, one of several Long Island wordsmiths featured this month on the Tattooed Poets Project.<br /><br />Lorraine offers up this beautiful tattoo on the upper right side of her back:<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5C5qFJ7Vva3SswQajbuZWQ-wFgVr09fjA8AaEJgtCNVGYpm1hyphenhyphenrY5SPmUmPf3_hoTgubnT4vRCk32InCraCA1Sx_IsfhPhKQz7G7c3nxtekeDmiOWyoY47Fkb-vjTWV45UB3MEGZiuqA/s1600/La+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5C5qFJ7Vva3SswQajbuZWQ-wFgVr09fjA8AaEJgtCNVGYpm1hyphenhyphenrY5SPmUmPf3_hoTgubnT4vRCk32InCraCA1Sx_IsfhPhKQz7G7c3nxtekeDmiOWyoY47Fkb-vjTWV45UB3MEGZiuqA/s640/La+.jpg" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Lorraine Conlin</td></tr></tbody></table>Lorraine gives us the background of this lovely La:<br /><blockquote>"My first and only tattoo (so far), was self-designed with a bit of enhancement by <i>Syxx,</i> of <a href="http://wyldchyldstudios.com/"><b>Wyld Chyld</b> <b>Tattoo</b></a> in Merrick, NY, where I co-host poetry events in their adjoining café.  <i>La</i> is the Lilliputianized form of my original nickname, <i>Lala.</i>  Before I said Mama or Dada, as most babies do, I uttered <i>Lala</i> and from that day forward, my family referred to me as their “little Lala”.  </blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAXyT9oiAgfdF6gLY5Pfbfe4bSPkbiuDxv0NxrWKT4lv-nPzl32RjbKIZgZyz7ECz8zk4ICDVby7K3oq5g3d4Ekau42WBdA0AXk27l8ltvbBRLbVV2PFMTOIhKrlk_UBLbpAP5jnxVBc/s1600/La+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAXyT9oiAgfdF6gLY5Pfbfe4bSPkbiuDxv0NxrWKT4lv-nPzl32RjbKIZgZyz7ECz8zk4ICDVby7K3oq5g3d4Ekau42WBdA0AXk27l8ltvbBRLbVV2PFMTOIhKrlk_UBLbpAP5jnxVBc/s400/La+detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Lorraine Conlin</td></tr></tbody></table>The name stayed with me and friends and business associates starting calling me “<i>La</i>”.  While hosting the open mic at Wyld Chyld Tattoo & Café, I met <a href="http://www.myspace.com/obrien6"><i>Syxx</i></a>, (Raymond Obrien) who is with the Metal Group, “<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Saints-of-Pain/137974834137?sk=wall">The Saints of Pain</a>”.  He signed up to read one night and read something he had written.  We started talking and I asked if I had any ink.  I told him I was afraid of infection and I was allergic to lots of foods and meds. He asked me which ones and when I said sulfur, he said I could get any colors except yellow or any that had yellow in their composition.  He was so reassuring, knowledgeable and gentle that I went home that night and started thinking about what to get and where I wanted it.  I sketched it out and brought him the sketch.  We made a date, he made the stencil and the rest is history." </div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">Lorraine was kind enough to share this poem with us:<span style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 115%;">A Wannabe Fantasy</span></b></div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="NoSpacing">I told my shrink I wannabe a back warmer</div><div class="NoSpacing">sit on a bitch pad behind a biker guy</div><div class="NoSpacing">wrap my arms round his ape-hanger grip</div><div class="NoSpacing">straddle his bar-hopper bike on Friday nights</div><div class="NoSpacing">ride with a big bearded chromosexual guy </div><div class="NoSpacing">cruise the big road to nowhere…</div><div class="NoSpacing">I wanna goggle the horizon -- eat asphalt</div><div class="NoSpacing">let my puppies hang loose </div><div class="NoSpacing">wear black leather chaps</div><div class="NoSpacing">and a purple skid lid</div><div class="NoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="NoSpacing">“I don’t think you do.” He said</div><div class="NoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="NoSpacing">Yes, I do</div><div class="NoSpacing">I love bikers</div><div class="NoSpacing">especially the B.U.G.s</div><div class="NoSpacing">the bigger, uglier the guy</div><div class="NoSpacing">the harder they try</div><div class="NoSpacing">the better they make me feel</div><div class="NoSpacing">told him I rode hard and long with a few</div><div class="NoSpacing">before these confession sessions </div><div class="NoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="NoSpacing">He said. “We have to stop now.” </div><div class="NoSpacing"><br /></div><div class="NoSpacing">I found a new therapist</div><div class="NoSpacing">she loves to listen </div><div class="NoSpacing">to my biker-chick fantasies</div><div class="NoSpacing">rides along with me</div><div class="NoSpacing">always asks</div><div class="NoSpacing">“How does that make you feel”…</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div class="NoSpacing">Lorraine Conlin is a US Customs Broker at <a href="http://www.panynj.gov/airports/jfk.html">JFK Airport</a>. She is on the BOD of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Long-Island-Poetry-Collective/253009005395?sk=info">The Long Island Poetry Collective</a>, hosts “Tuesdays With Poetry” for <a href="http://poetsinnassau.blogspot.com/">Poets in Nassau</a>, and co-hosts for <a href="http://www.performancepoets.org/">PerformancePoets Association</a> at <a href="http://www.yourli.com/Wyld-Chyld-Tattoo---Cafe/7312044">Wyld Chyld Tattoo & Café</a> in Merrick, LINY. Her work has been published in PPA Literary Review(s), <a href="http://www.poets.org/viewevent.php/prmEventID/5636">LongIsland Sounds Anthology(s)</a>.  Lorraine initiated and hosts <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=152641658121666">Super Poem Sunday</a>, where folks gather to celebrate the sport of poetry on Super Bowl Sunday.  She is also the founder of the Long Island Poets for Darfur.  Lorraine is currently working on her first book of poems. </div><br />Thanks to Lorraine for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />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> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><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>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Lorraine Conlin

Today's tattooed poet is Lorraine Conlin, one of several Long Island wordsmiths featured this month on the Tattooed Poets Project. Lorra...

7:15 AM