Kathryn's Birdhouse Reminds Her of Home

I spotted Kathryn in Penn Station earlier this month and asked her about her tattoos. She shared this one, which jumped out at me from across the room:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobSHz4UDtB9nQqDm-wxftatsBipECaZdLVVCKtq5if_sYc9g598wQGNDy0oiV1EdHZEmCcm7kWltxpr58EfI73HJzsjTEPjJqN5CQrONKnXEAT8ebP7wK9XSAA2c0VAbqKxOTkQ8sUKE/s1600/Birdhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobSHz4UDtB9nQqDm-wxftatsBipECaZdLVVCKtq5if_sYc9g598wQGNDy0oiV1EdHZEmCcm7kWltxpr58EfI73HJzsjTEPjJqN5CQrONKnXEAT8ebP7wK9XSAA2c0VAbqKxOTkQ8sUKE/s640/Birdhouse.jpg" width="476" /></a></div><br />I had a nice time chatting with Kathryn who referred to her approximately 18 tattoos as a "patchwork" collection, with each tattoo marking a different occasion and/or the places she has been. I totally related to that, although she certainly has a lot more ink than I do.<br /><br />This birdhouse was the first tattoo she got after moving to Philadelphia. It represents a look back to home. Although the house is not modeled after the building where she lived, it's the same color as her former home, and she associates it with her leaving the nest for the big city.<br /><br />This piece, on her inner right forearm, is credited to Topper at <a href="http://philadelphiaeddiestattoo.com/">Philadelphia Eddie's</a>.<br /><br />Do note I framed the photo so you can see two of the five cherry bombs she had tattooed on her left arm when she turned eighteen. She noted that these bombs were a "loose" reference to the graffiti artist <a href="http://www.banksy.co.uk/">Banksy</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Kathryn for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}</style> <![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><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">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>

Kathryn's Birdhouse Reminds Her of Home

I spotted Kathryn in Penn Station earlier this month and asked her about her tattoos. She shared this one, which jumped out at me from acros...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Debbie Kirk

I always like to finish up the Tattooed Poets Project on a strong note, so today's tattooed poet, the last of this year's series, is the heavily-tattooed poet Debbie Kirk.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg650iQdMYhBIEsf7YjD7qzun_leU6SKRa_A83da1K3ZhJOT4-eVWkka69pQfpX8ubDuk5-HmTiX_CbYqR4MhZqToyC6WV88nK-uyEElUKwmxVVUqWipxyIGleHBwtrhB6YsW94JZOVMcU/s1600/Debbie+Kirk+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg650iQdMYhBIEsf7YjD7qzun_leU6SKRa_A83da1K3ZhJOT4-eVWkka69pQfpX8ubDuk5-HmTiX_CbYqR4MhZqToyC6WV88nK-uyEElUKwmxVVUqWipxyIGleHBwtrhB6YsW94JZOVMcU/s400/Debbie+Kirk+photo.jpg" width="341" /></a></div><br />It also happens to be Debbie's birthday today, as we check out one of her tattoos. More specifically, let's look at the top of her left arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJXV9zUlk3qU_Sy8HWDq7Kxxa5eNwWXnADZmJun-VQGiX4qGHfxmFd29b2Yr1kT2uH68YC25X0KFko6-kt-uY5q06jA3mdujy8Oin2_t6aECztwNj9etmqSAVQWX3U1g30Y0I-uqJgJo/s1600/better+elders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJXV9zUlk3qU_Sy8HWDq7Kxxa5eNwWXnADZmJun-VQGiX4qGHfxmFd29b2Yr1kT2uH68YC25X0KFko6-kt-uY5q06jA3mdujy8Oin2_t6aECztwNj9etmqSAVQWX3U1g30Y0I-uqJgJo/s400/better+elders.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><br />This piece, complete with straight razor, brass knuckles and cherry bomb, bears a banner that proclaims "Bow to your elders, you Emo Fucks."<br /><br />I mean, what more can I say about <u>that</u>? <br /><br />In discussing which tattoo of Debbie's to use, this exchange took place:<br /><br />Tattoosday: "I hesitate to use the emo one because of the language and because I'm sure people will not understand why you would get it, but that makes me want to use it more".<br /><br />Debbie: "its a favorite with peeps...it has been declared the sexiest tattoo ever..."<br /><br />Tattoosday: "I love tattoos but they are generally so benign nowadays, so it's nice to see one with a true fuck-all attitude."<br /><br />Debbie: "Yeah, that defines me what you said right there....and why I got the tattoo. I think that single tattoo is the most ME. I can be a bit honest...which is why people like my poetry."<br /><br />Where'd she get the tattoo? Debbie recalls " I just remember I got it in Venice 5 years ago from a girl who proposed to me when I told her my idea...I still tell that story. I KNEW it was good with that reaction and she was hot."<br />  <br />Debbie gave us several poems to choose from, and the one we selected, she says, is very representative of her work:<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}</style> <![endif]--> <br /><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Little Frankenstein girl</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">  </div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">has the hands of a pianist</div><div class="MsoNormal">And the heart of a broken organ</div><div class="MsoNormal">With thorns, glass</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bats and Indian ink </div><div class="MsoNormal">Seeping thro…</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sewn together</div><div class="MsoNormal">Crookedly stitched </div><div class="MsoNormal">Like a pastel valentine heart</div><div class="MsoNormal">Filled with mismatched parts</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">Has the right brain of a killer</div><div class="MsoNormal">Her right hand is dominant</div><div class="MsoNormal">While her left foot always faces away</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wanting to disconnect</div><div class="MsoNormal">To run</div><div class="MsoNormal">To be free</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">To not be part of this </div><div class="MsoNormal">Fucked up experiment</div><div class="MsoNormal">Dreamt up by </div><div class="MsoNormal">A genius dressed in rags</div><div class="MsoNormal">And chased by demons</div><div class="MsoNormal">The kind that really scratch and bite</div><div class="MsoNormal">When you are fast asleep</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">Is not a little girl anymore</div><div class="MsoNormal">The curls in her hair</div><div class="MsoNormal">Dreaded up in the sun</div><div class="MsoNormal">Medusa in the wind</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Her loud strong voice</div><div class="MsoNormal">Muffled under the stitches</div><div class="MsoNormal">That firmly binds her lips together</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bondage bringing pleasure</div><div class="MsoNormal">Only to those who wish </div><div class="MsoNormal">To keep her silent</div><div class="MsoNormal">(and they are many)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">Can’t count the stitches on her wrists</div><div class="MsoNormal">From all of those nights</div><div class="MsoNormal">With her right hand doing </div><div class="MsoNormal">What her left foot </div><div class="MsoNormal">Wanted to walk away from</div><div class="MsoNormal">And her not understanding</div><div class="MsoNormal">That she was never really alive</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the first place</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">All mixed up </div><div class="MsoNormal">And</div><div class="MsoNormal">Mix matched</div><div class="MsoNormal">Returning every evening</div><div class="MsoNormal">With fresh wounds to be sewn</div><div class="MsoNormal">From another vain attempt</div><div class="MsoNormal">To be mortal for just a few seconds</div><div class="MsoNormal">Before the fall</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">Stolen parts</div><div class="MsoNormal">Come with stolen lies</div><div class="MsoNormal">Maggots and flies.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The gravedigger, looking to make a buck</div><div class="MsoNormal">Steals her a kiss</div><div class="MsoNormal">The moistness quenches her lips</div><div class="MsoNormal">He promises more kisses tomorrow</div><div class="MsoNormal">She scurries home</div><div class="MsoNormal">Knowing full well</div><div class="MsoNormal">She’s damned to a life of stolen kisses</div><div class="MsoNormal">And malfunctioning hearts</div><div class="MsoNormal">that spit in the moonlight.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> </div><div><a href="http://tntkirk.com/">Debbie Kirk</a> has published 6 chapbooks and been in 12 anthologies and hundreds of print and online zines. She lives in Santa Cruz with her dog Dr. Gonzo.  She has a website she rarely updates at <a href="http://tntkirk.com/" target="_blank">tntkirk.com</a> but she can be best located lurking around Facebook!  Also check out <a href="http://tntkirk.com/">http://tntkirk.com/</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks to Debbie for sharing her tattoo and poetry with us here as we close out the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday. Also, we wish her a very happy birthday today!</div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-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: x-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></div><span><span><a href="http://dope.tntkirk.com/" target="_blank"></a></span></span>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Debbie Kirk

I always like to finish up the Tattooed Poets Project on a strong note, so today's tattooed poet, the last of this year's series, is...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Gerry LaFemina

Today's tattooed poet is Gerry LaFemina. Gerry put together a narrative about his ink, which makes my job easier, and gives us a detailed view of his tattoos. Let's see what he has to say:<br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sbTI_svYhzaJ7mKfRhvUUusLziY4NXTCPnD1ijC-b1uOkE-VXTJ-nBuVUHXkwYehNpuzdJDbejt8VGGTftipPe4F0E012fft3tGoB-OonIdqNArNQjlvn7k7HusSfFCUkh51ahvuYNI/s1600/tattoo+one+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sbTI_svYhzaJ7mKfRhvUUusLziY4NXTCPnD1ijC-b1uOkE-VXTJ-nBuVUHXkwYehNpuzdJDbejt8VGGTftipPe4F0E012fft3tGoB-OonIdqNArNQjlvn7k7HusSfFCUkh51ahvuYNI/s320/tattoo+one+cropped.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://joygainesfriedler.com/default.aspx">Joy Gaines-Friedler</a></td></tr></tbody></table>"My first tattoo–I was 19, I was a punk rock kid, and I had been thinking about getting a tattoo for some time.  I had had a dream in which I had a tattoo of a skull and crossbones design in which the skull had peace symbols for eyes.  When I was shaving the next morning, I was surprised I didn’t have the tattoo.  So I called up my friend Melody, whose uncle was Tattoo Ray–one of the best tattooists on Staten Island.  She made the appointment and came with me to her uncle’s house.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            In New York at the time (the mid 1980's), tattooing was still illegal: most tattoo artists worked out of their homes and their clientele was through word of mouth.  Ray was pretty famous–and I have met a number of people over the years on Staten island who had work done by Ray. He was funny, sarcastic, and quick-tongued.  I remember asking him about his needles (this was in the midst of the AIDS epidemic) after all and he asked me right back “How clean is your blood?”</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">             I liked him immediately.  He did the work.  His niece and I talked.  I just remember being surprised how much the tattoo gun sounded like a dentist drill.  The little whine, the humming buzz.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            My second tattoo: I got my senior year in college.  We found somebody in Westchester who did the work in his suburban neighborhood house.  I remember little of the experience.  The tattoo was not the one I wanted: what I had hoped to get – Tigger with a microphone and a mohawk jumping on his tail – I ended up not being able to afford.  Instead: I went with symmetry – and more pirate stuff: a rose with crossed swords above the left bicep.  In hindsight, this tattoo has held up better than Tigger probably would have....</div></blockquote><blockquote><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/AVvXsEg2rEPFozx0RDL9qz6nEMgLXrFD3Y7oMDDoWYBdpCg0zuPa4h0IZjPWzMaGaTTCWWgy5K72LkchSims52dZ4ZlfKvz875YOa6oOMUG5VP27zO2NF_mnj98tjbZl2DKJxDrnw2Inhi3qoiY/s1600/lafemina+and+tattoo+2+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rEPFozx0RDL9qz6nEMgLXrFD3Y7oMDDoWYBdpCg0zuPa4h0IZjPWzMaGaTTCWWgy5K72LkchSims52dZ4ZlfKvz875YOa6oOMUG5VP27zO2NF_mnj98tjbZl2DKJxDrnw2Inhi3qoiY/s400/lafemina+and+tattoo+2+cropped.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://joygainesfriedler.com/default.aspx">Joy Gaines-Friedler</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            What lasts though are the tattoos I wanted to get but didn’t: After the rose I wanted to get Charlie Chaplin tattooed on me.  I asked several artist friends of mine to make me a design, and I got a few of them, but none of them “worked.”  And for several years I wanted the logo for my old band tattooed somewhere.  But neither happened.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>            So I went with two for a long time: but I often thought about getting new ink.  I wrote.  I taught.  I created a program for young writers in northern Michigan called the Controlled Burn Seminar for Young Writers.  I committed 13 years to that project, and after the tenth seminar, I thought I would get its logo – a lit cherry bomb – tattooed on my right forearm.  The logo was important to me: I believe poetry and all art should be a lit cherry bomb.  It should be a potential explosion.  But it should be fun, too.  I looked into it a few times, but I finally made the decision on a lark a few days after my birthday.  I was walking on Carson Street in Pittsburgh – tattoo parlor row.  I liked the name <a href="http://flyingmonkeytattooshop.com/">Flying Monkey Tattoo</a>.  So in I went.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote><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/AVvXsEic_2L48SmCZFJgdBCPH2T1fx8ViBWeDDMvFIt9QgQfOE_m58Vv3V6I8rPgFBrGriRhIWhPsC6DyBNmP4o1YS07i_WPi2xrtmUxAKYxUsvzuZzG-_yFe7DyNNSELrll-gUZX4obe8_RB40/s1600/tattoo+three+2+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_2L48SmCZFJgdBCPH2T1fx8ViBWeDDMvFIt9QgQfOE_m58Vv3V6I8rPgFBrGriRhIWhPsC6DyBNmP4o1YS07i_WPi2xrtmUxAKYxUsvzuZzG-_yFe7DyNNSELrll-gUZX4obe8_RB40/s400/tattoo+three+2+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://joygainesfriedler.com/default.aspx">Joy Gaines-Friedler</a></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote></div><br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            The tattooist was a kid, He could have been one of my students–he was finishing up his apprenticeship and mine was one of his first tattoos.  The seminar after the ink ended up being the last one.  It seemed fitting that the creative writing kids got to see it before the seminar ended.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">            And now I’m back to collecting designs: this time, though, I know who’s going to do the tattoos.  The next one will be a Buddha carrying a tattered pirate flag on my back.  These are the two strains of my life.  And I want the MG logo somewhere.  I’ve been driving an MGB for 15 years.  The tattoo is a commitment and the things I am committed too, the things that define me, that continue to define me I want inked on me.  I spend much of my life putting ink on paper.  I think it’s only fitting to have some ink on me, too."</div></blockquote>And now, for one of Gerry's poems:<br />  <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><b>Alphabet City</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">            Avenues A through D, Lower </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">East Side</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, NYC</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">After the ambulances left but</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">before the sun finally rose above Avenue</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">C, I walked toward Tompkins Square Park where the heroin </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">dependent rockers slept, addled on benches, while</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">ex-punks huddled in their leather jackets</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">for the morning was still damp. One of them called out,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gerry? </i>What was I to do when I saw her, recognized</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">her hesitant familiar eyes. How could I have</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">imagined things would turn out this way when I’d call out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her </i>name —</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Joanna — those sleepless nights of high school &</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">kept a photo of her deep into college.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Longing has such a sense of history.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Morning was approaching in its colorful coat.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Not once those months of kissing her, had I wakened beside her, but</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">oh — I’d wanted to. She was thinner & glanced away when I nodded;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">pigeons surrounded her bench but would take off</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">quickly with the first sudden movement or when the next squad car</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">revealed itself in flashers & sirens.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">So what did I do? What could I do?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">The three five dollar bills folded in my pocket, what</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">use were they to me? I gave them to her, she who’d once been beautiful. How</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">victorious I’d felt that first time I kissed her.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">We didn’t look at each other, nor did we look askance. I thought of the little</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">xiphoid syringes she might load with that money. This was my sin.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Two young black kids with dreadlocks walked by singing</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zion</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">! Take me back to </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zion</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">! </i>& I knew I’d never be saved.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">– Gerry LaFemina</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193469522X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=193469522X%22%3EVanishing%20Horizon%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=193469522X&camp=217145&creative=399349%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"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vanishing Horizon</i></a>, 2011 Anhinga Press<br /><br /></div>Gerry LaFemina is the author of seven books of poems, most recently <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193469522X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=193469522X%22%3EVanishing%20Horizon%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=193469522X&camp=217145&creative=399349%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">Vanishing Horizon</a> (2011, <a href="http://www.anhinga.org/books/book_info.cfm?title=Vanishing%20Horizon">Anhinga Press</a>) and a collection of short stories.  He directs the <a href="http://www.frostburg.edu/cwcenter/">Frostburg Center for Creative Writing</a> at Frostburg State University where he also teaches.  He splits his time between Maryland and New York City.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><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=193469522X" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br />Thanks to Gerry for sharing his tattoos and poetry with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.</span><br /><br /><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>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Gerry LaFemina

Today's tattooed poet is Gerry LaFemina. Gerry put together a narrative about his ink, which makes my job easier, and gives us a detaile...

Read more »