I Am Tattooed

Content Warning: Jenn o' side

I am tattooed.

After only hours in the chair and with needles and ink
each of my forearms bears witness of images that are near and dear to me.
Images that mark me, claim me and say what words can’t hold.
One is Phoenix Rising,
One is Magpie.

My soul is tattooed.
After 188 days the tattoo is ongoing, not with needle and ink
but with images I can’t unsee,
sounds I can’t unhear.
Searing my soul with pictures of actions that eviscerate and annihilate.

This soul tattoo lays bare what is now everyday life,
which some people joyfully embrace and glorify
while others willfully dismiss and ignore.

All three tattoos are a part of me.

It is my hope that should I return to this life
Phoenix Rising and Magpie will return also,
furthering the bond we have created together.

It is my knowledge that is a knowledge beyond life itself
that when I return to this life,
my soul tattoo will be with me
as a North Star, guiding my being and actions,
reminding me to do what I am able so that this horror never occurs again.

~Janet Roper 4.10.2024