Archive for July 2009
225 days under grass
and you know more than I.
they have long taken your blood,
you are a dry stick in a basket.
is this how it works?
in this room
the hours of love
still make shadows.
when you left
you took almost
everything.
I kneel in the nights
before tigers
that will not let me be.
what you were
will not happen again.
the tigers have found me
and I do not care.
- “For Jane” by Charles Bukowski
Amanda got this tattoo after her mother died of cancer, 5 years ago this past memorial day:
Of all the poems I have read about loss, this one, to me, is the most subtle, the most striking, and the closest thing to describing grief I have come across. I got these lines done to commemorate both her memorial, as well as for the open ended nature of the quote itself. I figure the tigers can mean any sort of adversity, and to not care can be either a submission, or a lack of fear. Because of this, the quote reminds me that it’s ok to feel pain, as well as that it can be met with resilience, and even a sense of detachment, which is essential for forward momentum in life.
They were done by Aron Mathews of 7th Street Tattoo in Little Rock, AR.
(102 votes, average: 4.63 out of 5)
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This is Gordon Lane’s semicolon tattoo:
this semicolon, on my tricep, was purchased in tucson after returning from mexico city, where i had gone on vacation from the army, an act that would shortly thereafter get me out of the army. it was an appropriate piece of punctuation for the time. plus, i simply love semicolons, even to the excess that william t. vollmann can use them.
(41 votes, average: 4.12 out of 5) Loading ...
This is Bekka’s tattoo:
“So it goes…” has meant a lot to me the last couple years. I’ve dealt with the loss of a mother, a friend, and a family friend, and “so it goes” has just reminded me that life continues on no matter what the circumstances. Above it is a celtic triskel, which means waaaaay more than I could ever explain in a few sentences.
This was posted as a part of “So it Goes” Saturdays. The phrase “so it goes” appears in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five 116 times. Can you help me collect 116 “so it goes” tattoos? 12 down, 104 to go.
(34 votes, average: 2.82 out of 5) Loading ...
This tattoo is on Sasha:
Robert Heinlein is by far my favorite author. His works have affected my feelings about so many things. I definitely think fiction is just as important, and substantial, as non-fiction. Which is why I got this quote.
“Who is more real? Homer or Ulysses? Shakespeare or Hamlet? Burroughs or Tarzan?”
- L’Envoi Chapter in The Number of the Beast
(52 votes, average: 4.48 out of 5) Loading ...The lady with the lovely Theodore Isaac Rubin tattoo has submitted an addition to her back.
Victoria says:
It’s a slightly morphed image of Alice from “Alice in Wonderland”.
Despite the modern “druggy-hippie” view of Alice in Wonderland, I have always seen it as a story of girl going through life’s journey encountering both the + and – aspects. Hence why I chose. As for the Rabbit, being half-Taiwanese, my family follows the Chinese Animal years and I was born in the year of the Rabbit. Furthermore, the characters in my Chinese name means Rose-Apple.
When that one heals, I’m planning on getting a book bind, pages, ribbon bookmark, and a curved page added as a border.
(50 votes, average: 3.38 out of 5) Loading ...
“But we’re older now and oh, we’re ever hopeful:
I’ve got a feeling that the dash is going to make up for the trouble.
Now it’s roaring noon and it’s a celebration,
And we gallop through the city, you’re the chief investigator.”
by Bound Stems.This tattoo is on Christin from Atlanta, GA.
(31 votes, average: 3.74 out of 5) Loading ...
This is Ally’s tattoo from On the Social Contract
I first saw the quote when I was about 14 or 15; it stayed with me for a long time. Nine years down the road, when I finally made up my mind to get my first tattoo, I decided on this quote because I agreed with the sentiment completely. Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains – we are all bound by something beyond our control.
(43 votes, average: 4.44 out of 5) Loading ...
This tattoo is on Tana Barnes:
It meant a lot to me. Of all the quotes I was thinking of getting tattooed, this one I got because it was simple. I suppose it just summed up a lot of feelings in my life right now. It’s tragic, and it’s my sort of comedic relief to just.. keep going, I suppose. Life moves forward, and that’s how it goes. Plus, it was for my 19th birthday and it was free ;]
This was posted as a part of “So it Goes” Saturdays. The phrase “so it goes” appears in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five 116 times. Can you help me collect 116 “so it goes” tattoos? 11 down, 105 to go.
(28 votes, average: 2.96 out of 5) Loading ...This is Serra’s tattoo.
The useless drag of another day
The endless drags of a death rock boy
Mascara sure and lipstick lost
Glitter burned by restless thoughts of being forgotten
And in your sad machines
You’ll forever stay
Desperate and displeased-with whoever you are
And your a star
Somwhere-he pulls his hair down-over a frowning smile
A hidden diamond you cannot find
A secret star that cannot shine over to you
May the king of gloom, be forever doomed
And in your sad machines
You’ll forever stay
Burning up in speed
Lost inside the dreams, of teen machines
The useless drags, the empty days
The lonely towers of long mistakes
To forgotten faces and faded loves
Sitting still was never enough
And if you’re giving in, then your giving up
Cause in your sad machines
You’ll forever stay
Burning up in speed
Lost inside the dreams of teen machines
- Here Is No Why
(33 votes, average: 3.24 out of 5) Loading ...
