kokopelle | Entries tagged with tattoo

Art can have the smallest of inspirations. I was looking at my Tumblr feed and saw a photo of a marker drawing of an eye put to a leg. The text of the posting said “I drew this myself. These inspired me to write “Pens in the Soul”.

Pens in the Soul

I drew this on myself
with pens I found in my soul
collected over many years
strewn across the inner drawers
cubbyholes where I store
some of sorrow, some of joy

the colors come in many shades
spectrum spread from here to there
rainbows high in the sky
marking how I live my life
to muted grays of cloudy days
some far too black for sanity

I’ll sketch to flesh with instruments
guns that wound but do not kill
needles honed to prick the skin
planting fields forever there
phantasms plucked from memory
with pigments honed through the years

I beg you not to judge
the stories I’ve placed on the skin
plucked from corners I’ve suppressed
now bravely brought out show
some you see in the light
others hide beneath the clothes

I drew this on myself
decisions made when muse exclaimed
that outer is the canvas blank
tattoos are the medium
for the thoughts I’ve kept inside
drawn with pens found in the soul.

2016, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved, 20161204.

Current Mood: contemplative

I have to confess that I have no tattoos. I respect those who choose this path. For myself, the ink tattoo is a too permanent statement of who I am. The poem “Tattoos of the Soul” explains my philosophy.

Tattoos of the Soul
Poem for Day 263 – 20150921

If I record from the book,
every person I seemed to be,
my skin would be exhausted
before I turned to chapter three.
All the masks and all the works,
fragments of a life too diverse
for a soul seeking quiet solace
from the desire to leave this earth.

Some themes do throughout persist,
a narrative for the stranger's eye,
nine-tenths truth to ease the mind,
window dressing for a tattooed soul.
The other tenth is where I really live,
resident of the most true self,
of this there is no desire
to apply pigment to my skin.

No ink records the trials felt within,
look to the stars for these refrains.
No scribbles on flesh betray the past
abandoned in the wake of circumstance.
All the versions that came before,
revisions of a changing man,
dialogues with the gods discarded
as the wheel turned round and round.

Seeking to forget the troubled past,
questing for a future alternate,
you'll find no ink to explain
the memories I left behind.
Look beyond to the masks I wear,
into the eyes of quiet despair,
hopes and fears, and unshed tears,
sum of life tattooed on my soul.

© 2015, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved.

Current Mood: contemplative

The poem “Family Tattoo Night” was inspired by a fragment of a dream.

Family Tattoo Night
Poem for Day 059 – 20150228

Welcome one and all
to my family's joy.
You can join to too,
plenty of room for you!

Every Thursday eve
we do a coloring thing.
It's family tattoo night,
it'll make us feel alright!

Little junior likes the flash,
hearts and skulls and roses,
they cover his little back,
with even more on his torso.

Little sis sports the unicorns,
with bloody horns and gory hooves.
She's got a team at full gallop
that can never be removed.

My spouse is the most endearing
with yours truly name so inked
a hundred times over, in fonts varied,
just to say they love the one they married.

I go for the tribal flair,
so many meanings in so little space,
I've got so many from everywhere,
a United Nations ascribed in tats!

It's like this, every week,
get the ink once again.
A family tradition that's the best
until we all run out of flesh.

© 2015. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved

Current Mood: amused

I was looking through pictures on Tumblr and came across some wonderful tats. These inspired me to write the poem “Art of my Soul”. I hope fully express the magic that tattoos bring to whose who wear this art!

Art of my Soul
Bonus Poem for Day 016 - 20150116

Marks of time, lashes of the soul,
each has a story
with the commonality of me.

Flash was the source,
stencil transfers the pattern,
through pain I receive the stain.

Symbols branded in ink,
visions of my inner self turned outward,
anguish and humor swirl about.

My life laid before you,
behold my passions, my fears,
proclaimed in script of the skin.

They speak louder than words,
voices that can only be quieted
when you close your eyes.

They are forever with me,
ink and dot, lines combined
into the art of my soul.

© 2015. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved.

Current Mood: contemplative

A talk with a friend brought an interesting topic to mind. They were getting a tattoo, but just one. They said that they wanted the flexibility to be themselves and getting more tattoos would put a damper on that expression. I related a lot, and after some consideration I can share my thoughts.

I don't have any tattoos. Is it because I am terribly conventional and don't want to step outside of a rigid box? The answer is no. Believe it or not, am not pursuing tattoos because I want freedom to not be rigidly conventional.

Before I go any further with this I want to be clear that I don't condemn tattoos. They are quite cool and people should get them if they want. They are just not for me.

OK, back to the freedom thing. I believe that norms are anything but rigid. Norms are there to be tested. The words of Mark Daniel Snyder in the article “The Quiet Clash Between Transgender Women And Drag Queens” really speak to how I feel about the flexibility of norms. Mark enjoys playing with gender norms.

“I enjoy messing with gender norms. I enjoy the wide range of gender diversity and expression. Snyder says, “I’m able to see the world of gender in more color almost. I view gender as a galaxy and all the stars, and it’s so expansive and diverse, and I’m just one little star in there.” -- Mark Daniel Snyder

In my own way I enjoy messing with norms. Sometimes I comply with the expected norms. Other times I have people scratching their heads. My excuse could be that I have an artistic streak, but there could be more. I am an explorer, and we are on a group journey.

Tattoos make an incredible statement, but that statement is forever. I feel that the permanency of a tattoo restricts ongoing expansiveness and diversity of expression. We are here to explore life. This exploration is more than just visiting countries and seeking exotic sites. There are inner landscapes to explore. These landscapes map to our relations with others, and in these relations we see the galaxies and stars that Snyder mentions.

Current Mood: contemplative

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Journey to Ixtlan

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Entries tagged with tattoo

Poem - Pens in the Soul

Poem - Tattoos of the Soul

Poem - Family Tattoo Night

Poem - Art of my Soul

Flexing the Norms and Tattoos

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