Tattoo This Line Challenge Winners

For this challenge, we asked you to write something unforgettable, a line so bold, beautiful, or true that someone might want it inked forever.

The results were raw, fearless, and full of feeling. Some pieces whispered truths you didn’t know you needed to hear. Others hit like confessions, declarations, or quiet anthems for the bruised and brave. These weren’t just pretty words. They were the kind that stay with you. Lines that felt lived in and lines that could live on.

Here are the ones that left a mark.

🏆 $500 Grand Prize Winner: Decorum by Christopher Stiner

Christopher Stiner's grand prize entry, "Decorum", lands with a line that refuses to stay quiet: “I do not owe my quiet to the comfort of cowards.” It's bold, honest, and cuts straight to the heart. The piece builds with steady power, honoring the strength it takes to live unapologetically in a world that keeps asking you to shrink.

🥈 $200 Second Place: Instructions for the Soft-Hearted by Tim Carmichael

Tim Carmichael's "Instructions for the Soft-Hearted" lands a close second with its gentle defiance, weaving a truth that stays with you: 'Stay soft enough to break.' This line resonates with a kind of courage that feels both rebellious and tender. It’s a reminder of strength found in vulnerability, urging us to embrace the cracks and call it bravery.

🎖️ Runners-up: $15 Each

mother animal. by Jennifer A. G.

Jennifer A. G.'s entry is both haunting and rich with imagery that sticks. The line about 'she-wolves grown thin on Crown Land, grown deaf to her tongue' is a sharp reminder of loss and change, one that lingers long after reading. The evocative language and mythical undertones make this a memorable runner-up, leaving you mulling over the echoes of history and nature intertwined.

.:R.I.S.E:. by Gina C.

Gina C.'s poem reflects a quiet shift from chasing something outside herself to realizing the power of what's already within. The moment she stops trying to be the masterpiece and starts owning her role as the artist hits with quiet clarity. It’s a gentle, steady kind of resilience that stays with you.

I'm Comfortable Here by Lightning Bolt ⚡

Lightning Bolt's piece is a cascade of raw honesty and self-reflection. The line "I'm comfortable now / Here in my own flesh" lands with quiet confidence. As the list of flaws, phases, and contradictions builds, it leads to this calm moment of acceptance. It's a line that feels earned, personal, unfiltered, and ready to wear.

An Ode to the Oldest Daughter by Nicole Fenn

Nicole Fenn's "An Ode to the Oldest Daughter" speaks to anyone who’s ever carried more than their share. The line "You are not bitter, you are blistered." lands with quiet clarity, naming pain without apology. Whether it’s that truth or the closing reassurance that "you were always enough," this work holds more than one line worth keeping close.

consumption metta by Morgana

Morgana's "consumption metta" moves in circles, returning again and again to the line "may you be devoured, may you be consumed." It reads like a chant, both unsettling and strangely comforting. The poem invites you to consider the full cycle of birth, hunger, sacrifice, and return as something you’re part of, not separate from.

a glutton for more by Heather Hubler

Heather Hubler's "a glutton for more" builds from hunger and wreckage into something luminous. The final line, "because together, we are supernova" lands like a shared exhale, bright, battered, and full of possibility. It's a reminder that healing can come from collision and that scars sometimes shine.

The Open Line by Iris Obscura

Iris Obscura's "The Open Line" carries a pulse that stays with you. The runner-up entry hits hard with the line, "If you don’t love me—don’t make it gentle," which carves its place in your mind. The entire narrative feels like holding onto a call that might never end, leaving that unforgettable sentence echoing long after it's over.

🌒 Half-God, Half-Ghost by Rukka Nova

Rukka Nova's poem lingers with the line 'I am not what I survived — I am what I dared to stay alive for.' It feels like a mantra, capturing resilience not in rising but in choosing to stay. The power here is in the defiance and the acknowledgement of unseen battles.

Relentless and Full of Grace by Kevin Rolly

Kevin Rolly's runner-up offers a quiet reminder to carry strength with grace. The message lands gently, after a series of memories filled with love, loss, and quiet resilience. It’s the kind of line you don’t just read, you carry it with you.

Spoiled Milk and Panic Attacks by Natasha Collazo

Natasha Collazo's “Spoiled Milk and Panic Attacks” leans into the mess, and that’s what makes it land. The line about honking for a “Jesus” sticker captures the beauty in chaos and the honesty in imperfection. It’s loud, offbeat, and real in a way that sticks.

Three Heartbeats by Dalma Ubitz

Dalma Ubitz's "Three Heartbeats" taps into the intimate yet universal struggle of belonging, with a line that beats 'my heart is a triad of cultural drums,' capturing the rhythm of a life stretched across continents.

It’s Tradition by Ariana GonBon

Ariana GonBon's "It’s Tradition" speaks plainly and with purpose. The line "because we know too many stories" cuts straight through, capturing a reality that doesn't need embellishment. It's not just memorable, it’s familiar in a way that feels heavy, shared, and impossible to ignore.

To all the girls who couldn't hang by Cali Loria

Cali Loria's "To all the girls who couldn't hang" reads like a broadcast from a generation caught between dial-up and danger. The Goldilocks line: “not too thin, not too fat, just sweet enough to eat you up” captures the impossible tightrope girls are taught to walk.

Drive by Shaun Walters

Shaun Walters' "Drive" lands as a runner-up with its striking sense of liberation and self-discovery. The line 'Your destination is not my destiny' feels like a mantra for independence, capturing the essence of breaking free from expectations.

Here I Stand by Theosis Northam

Theosis Northam's "Here I Stand" builds like a storm, then settles into something solid. The closing line, "Here I stand. Alone. Unbroken. Resolved." doesn’t ask for attention—it earns it. It’s the kind of ending that stays with you, carved out of defiance and survival.

🏅 Honorable Mentions

As our challenges continue to grow, we are celebrating even more incredible writers with Honorable Mentions—a special spotlight for stories that stand out for their creativity, originality, or emotional impact. Writers who receive an Honorable Mention get a special badge that appears on their profile, showcasing their achievement and contributions to the Vocal community.

• Contents: 1 Analog Soul by J. Otis Haas
• Judgment by Aaron Richmond
• leaving the wake by Poppy
• The Detriment of Separation by Kelley Zherzhi
• Freckled by Cathy holmes
• And Then My Soul Kisses Me With by Jada Ferguson
• Built Like An Oak by kp
• Your Past is Written, Not Your Thread by Loretta Emmons
• In the Quiet Between Heartbeats by Diane Foster
• Etched Map of Years by T.L. McConaughy

To explore more Challenges, please visit Vocal Challenges.