Needled

I wonder if I'll still be around
when you tire of the tattoo
you are about to needle
your finger with?

You know I have a thing
about labels and labelling.
Let people be people,
is it necessary to shout from
the summit to announce
to all and sundry what is
personal?

Knowing how you hate poetry,
I wonder what you'd think of me
If I tattooed my index finger with
the word poet? You would be the
first to say "for Pete's sake don't
show it".

Come to think of it, when you go
ask how much the price will be
to impregnate my skin with ink
before I sink below the horizon.

Author's Note

Please note I am not against tattoos

Reviews

[Davidgeo]

Labels are quite literally everywhere. You use them yourself everyday, even if you don't know it. We labeled our feelings with symbols, strung them together with sounds and made language which is probably in the top 3 of species greatest advantages list.

How a person chooses to label themselves is part of a thing all humans do, "self identify". We do it with clothes, make up, jewelry, possessions, fashion, actions, affiliations, tone of voice, Tattoos, and so on.

If you are negatively judging someone for getting a tattoo for fashionable reasons you're doing it in a hypocritical way. Do you not promote your gender preference and deliver a message through fashion (clothes, make up, jewelry, etc.)? You might not like tattoos as a method to achieve the same things as yourself but it's just another way of doing something. Like how some people are vegans and some people are not, or how some people like ice cream and some people like pudding instead. It's not rational to attribute negative connotations to people who self identify with tattoos, even if they look ridiculous and are generally idiotic people for other reasons... they're just trying to be themselves and if being superficial is who they are, then superficial is who they are.

Personally, i'll never get a tattoo, I don't see the appeal. Maybe when I start going senile I'll start tattooing passwords and pin numbers on my body... but that's about it.

[Chris Shaw]

There is not much you have said that I disagree with here
David, and you are right, about, fashion, hairstyles, make-up etc being used to identify people. Difference, being all those things can be easily changed. A tat is permanent. Not a problem if you are an adult but if you are a young impressionable teenager who buys an outfit one day and discards it the next, then you have to get a point over. Also from the point of view of an employer, maybe they don't like seeing them displayed on fingers, hands etc. I actually like them when they are creative but not when they are used for other purposes. My money says she'll regret it in ten years time. It's done now, she's got to live with it, I tried to make her think twice. End of :)) Always good to hear your views, thanks for the visit. It was where and what rather than anything else.

[Davidgeo]

Eh, it's just a viewpoint that sounded rational. I don't actually have a stance on this so I thought I'd take one not likely to be taken on this thread.

[Chris Shaw]

Yep, your viewpoint is perfectly rational. I am thinking about those pin numbers and passwords and just wondering whether anyone has ever ......
Hope all is good with you.

[Davidgeo]

I'm sure someone is or was that stupid somewhere at some point in time to do something like that.

[Einstein Noodle]

i can speak to the issue a bit .. but first your poem ... well spoken free verse on a controversial subject ..i cringe at the skin your speaker has chosen to adorn .. painful i am sure .. and difficult to achieve clarity because of such a small area ;)
there are two very general divisions of the tattooed .. one likes "showing up" and the other covers up ... in an attempt to soften the expressed view of "Needled" .. either way people can be honest as persons or not ... i have a lot of tats ... all very personal and meaningful to me .. i rarely uncover them in public .. not that they are placed in private places .. i just don't go out without a shirt on .. it is best to protect skin and ink with good sunblock if "showing up" ... best to leave the needle alone if it is a fad thing that pushes someone to tat up ... best left alone for a sober mind as well ... i love your poem and the forum it opens up ... tats are an expression of self at best .. like poetry :)) old school tat rules:
1: no writing ..artists leave that to calligraphers
2: absolutely no names ..we come and go a tat remains ;)
E.

[Chris Shaw]

Greetings Mr E from across the pond on a beautiful, hot sunny day. I read your response with much interest and love your old tat rules. I heartily agree. Such sound common sense. I have to say, I do like them in the main. Have seen some extraordinary artwork, so creative, but wince at the pain! Problem at the moment is with the younger generation who are having tats done because it is fashionable :) Also they aren't thinking ahead to consider how they are going to feel about them in ten years time. Can you hear the generation gap coming through here? Yes the poem was banter between myself and a much younger family member who now has to live with the symbol she has had inked on her index finger :)) Always look forward to your visits my friend across the pond. Have a great day.

Chris

[Einstein Noodle]

oooooooo that must have hurt :O what did she put on there if i may ask?!

[Chris Shaw]

It was a circle with a cross on the top which is the symbol for being female. I told her she was stating the bloody obvious :)) Nineteen now, not going to listen to Nan. At least she listened to everything I said before she went off and did it anyway!! Lol. I didn't like where she had it placed. If it had been on her shoulder it wouldn't have raised the debate as much :)

[Einstein Noodle]

ahhhhhhhhh girl power! ;) yes .. much better to put them where they can easily be covered ... not everyone likes them :) but its small ... i don't think she has damaged her future by it .. but Nan needs to hang in there .. tattoos can be addictive ;)

[Chris Shaw]

You are wise Mr E. Nan needs to hang in there :))

[Einstein Noodle]

Christine ... you are a delight!

[Chris Shaw]

You say the nicest things :))

[R.E. Ray]

Chris, as someone with no tattoos, in a country that seems obsessed with making bodies into walking billboards, I get everything you're saying in this poem. Most of my closest friends and nearly all of my fellow officers have at least one tattoo, and they're generally related to their military or law enforcement service (and most are kept covered when working). I respect each individual's decision to express themselves, though I must admit I'm sometimes confused and made dizzy with all the inked messages and misshaped butterflies.

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks Robert. It's all the rage. Particularly with youngsters. Don't mind a bit of discreet artwork but I have a thing about symbols or anything being used which will categorise people by gender, sexuality or anything else which is effectively labelling people. Dizzy is a good way to describe what some of those brandings can do to the eyes. Many thanks for your continued support of my scribbles.

Chris

[Kay Salisu Titilola]

I understood you not being preachy in this poem, It's just a point of view.
I don't have tattoos and I don't wish to have any.
I just praised those that could go through pain to have their skin needled.

Well expressed, Chris.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Kay. Banter between myself and a family member, much younger. I wasn't keen on what she was planning as a tattoo and she hates poetry :)) We were both expressing our views. Thank you for your visit.

Chris

[Kay Salisu Titilola]

Personalities are different so as their effects.

My pleasure... Chris.

[Kay Salisu Titilola]

Personalities are different so as their effects.

My pleasure... Chris.

[Chris Shaw]

Variety. The spice in life :)

[Kay Salisu Titilola]

That's it.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i always wonder when i see them, especially when one has many...are there any regrets? would that person wish to not have done it in a moment of impulse?
or not...my uncle had a navy tat he was quite proud of.
and i have seen some pretty good ones...to each his own...i say...
i really like the line "impregnate my skin with ink"
that is a nice metaphor, Chris...fits the write so well.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

You've raised an interesting point Jacob. I have seen many who tattoo the name of their love boldly where it shows. We all know romances don't last. Maybe there must be a few regrets about the tattoos in those cases even if they are happy the relationship is over. I quite like some of them, not for putting people into categories though. Really appreciate your thoughts. Banter here of the family type :)

Chris

[Dave Brown]

It sounds a tat as though you are not a super tattoo fan
Truth is I don't really understand the fascination of these things being all over your body

It is like all the commercials obliterating the writers cafe site!
I can barely see the screen for all the tattoos, er, advertising

[Chris Shaw]

I really don't mind tattoos Dave. I don't like them conveying a message to express anything to do with gender, sexuality etc. I hate people being put into boxes. If it is straight forward artwork, I can admire it. Many thanks for your visit.

Chris

[Pete]

thought-provoking. these attention-getting advertisements. when we point our crooked fingers at others, we are labeling. i personally don't like them and would never get one. over time they fade and blur - looking better on young skin and not so on old, wrinkled. for my (Pete's) sake, i keep it to myself and let the changes take place inside of me ... :)

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Pete. Yes, once you have them you have to live with them, wrinkles and all. That sort of takes some of the attraction out of the equation. Thank you for your thoughts.

Chris

Ch

[Jibey]

Why add to nature's gifts? But then we all try to enhance our bodies by one means or another... There is something very primitive about tattoos... and sometimes I find myself in a primitive kind of mood.. . It fascinates me where some people manage to place them... It's the voyeur in me, I suppose.

[Chris Shaw]

Some people do put them in strange places and with messages too!! Quite like discreet ones, but not ones that label people to put them into categories. Totally against that. Never thought of them as being primitive. That gives them an edge of excitement :) Thanks Jibey.

Chris

[Ted Kniffen]

I suppose the proper word is discreet. The ones who bother me are the people who turn their entire bodies into a canvas and then complain they can't find a job. If I can see it, my clients can see it.
I have what I call my anti-tatoo tatoo. A small black dot at the top of my right index finger. Did it myself in grade school with a number two lead pencil jabbed into the back of my hand...but that's another story.

A good write, Chris, I enjoyed it.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Gosh for someone who is not against tattoos this flowing, vitriolic piece appears to 'make a fist of it'. I am not keen on lurid tattoos, a small discrete one is ok but I often wonder why they are needed and how it will look in later years or to a prospective employer. Another interesting freeverse poem.

[Chris Shaw]

Banter between myself and a family member. Opinionated yes. Not against tattoos. I am against them being used to deliver a message or promote gender or sexual preferences or anything which is labelling people into categories. Some of them are works of art. Some youngsters have them done because it's fashionable. They are like sheep. :)) Thank you John Good morning to you.

Chris

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Good morning Chris.

[Stella Armour]

lol, i have 3 needlings ... all butterflies :))

A real one came and sat on my bare knee last week, i think it was flirting with the tattoo one on my foot haha ...

[Chris Shaw]

Hello Stella, I like them. I'm just a bit particular about the message some of them give out:)) Butterflies are gorgeous. Hope you are OK and it is good to see you back here. Thanks for your visit.

Chris

[Stella Armour]

Hi Chris, had my first one when i was 60 haha ... then a small ankle one . Son treated me to a lovely big one on my foot a few years later.
Love it, and you would be surprised how many people admire the foot one in the summer ... it is gorgeous. No reason for older people not to have one if they want one ... just place it where you are most unlikely to wrinkle :)

[Chris Shaw]

Now, there may lie the problem :))

[Stella Armour]

:)) ..................