Let Your Body Speak
Another, subversive, hubris-stroking entry for that Tattoo This Line Challenge
As I stand—accused and adored, derided and divine—
I command the stage I built for my own becoming,
and direct the best I have to give—
for you to immortalise, to give legacy
to the humble and honest, the haughty and hubristic.
I hope for a day—spring, autumn, maybe even winter—
I am your master, your saviour, your hero,
whose words you hang on every syllable.
On the back:
“You can sift through the shards of broken glass and grains of broken enterprise,
but sometimes letting go is the only safe escape from being pulled down with it.”
On the front:
“It’s the little things—the insignificant,
that steal me from the pull of the unforgiving nothingness.”
On the right:
“There is a difference, a difference you should know,
betwixt intelligence and wisdom.”
On the left:
“There is a difference, a difference you should know,
betwixt having opinions and sharing them.”
The thighs:
“When the weight of the words I’d rather write than speak
are too much to bear, even after they’re free—I digress.”
“Remember, we are not Pablo Picasso.
He could walk anywhere, stare at anyone—
but Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole.”
“A touch of love can cut through resounding self-loathing,
feather-down-soft like Egyptian cotton of the finest quality.”
On the chest:
“Silence always precedes—everything.”
*
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Paul Stewart
Award-Winning Writer, Poet, Scottish-Italian, Subversive.
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Comments (7)
I do believe you have the subject covered, my friend. Oops, I see you missed a spot on the bottom of your left foot near the heel.
Really nice ideas
Oh. My. God. That was genius! I'm so happy John suggested it and your went with it. Like wow, my mind is blown!
Pretty sure any one of these tats would mark its bearer as an iconoclast, Paul. But my absolute favorite is There is a difference, a difference you should know, betwixt having opinions and sharing them. Just because a thought pops into your head does not mean you should share it with the world makes a nice corollary. Or is it complement? 🧐 Grant you, both are hefty mouthfuls, but worth every damn syllable. And thanks for the shout out and taking my insane suggestion seriously as only you could do. It worked a lot better in your trusty hands than it did in my head. So there’s that.
Clever way to pull all those lines into one place! I like how you framed it with the locations for the tattoos! Really filling up the entire canvas!
Perfect <3 and I love how you linked each line back to their poems, Paul <3
Author's Notes: Thanks to John Cox, I went with his suggestion by using a lot of my favourite/best lines from other pieces for this entry. I didn't think I would do another - but here it is!