Tattoo

My lovely new tattoo. The full poem can be found here.  Rilke is my favorite poet, he always writes the poems I wish I could..I'm glad to have him with me now, in such a beautiful way! Thanks John Biswell, for making it perfect!

My Husband's Hands..

I’ve already written about my hands. But hands are one of my favorite features to study. They attract me (or repulse me) more than almost any other..and repulsive hands are impossible to ignore, really, I have a hard time getting over hands that repel me. I fell in love with my husband’s hands (and voice) before I fell in love with him. He has good hands, they’re honest and clear, they hate complications. When he took photos of his new tattoo, he was kind enough to include his hand in the photo for me.

He has fire hands, like I do, but they're more stable than mine, because he is essentially a water person. His hands have changed more than mine since we've been married, mainly because, as a mason, they take a beating daily. He has scars from washing brick with acid; deeper, stronger creases than before and he's settled more into a strong sense of self. They're creative hands - more consistent than mine, with a deep, imaginative mind, but a smaller writer's fork. Hand's that laugh often, work hard, and love well. Hands to be trusted. Stubborn though, and a bit too strong-willed - hard to argue with.

His new tattoo is beautiful, isn't it?!

Tattoos, Headscaves, and Long Halls

We attend mass at the Basilica in town. It’s a big, beautiful old gray-stone church. Light, open, and Eastery. The early morning mass is the Extraordinary form. I prefer our liturgy to the novus ordo, primarily because I can’t resist the over-abundant ritual, but also becuase, like Flannery O Connor,"I do not like the raw sound of the human voice in unison unless it is under the discipline of music." . Our priest is a dual-rite Byzantine , and that is another benefit to me, as I miss the Liturgy of John Chrysostom.

       One thing I love about old churches are the long aisles lined in stained glass. I like the sound of my shoes on the tile as I walk. I like the saints with their votives watching from the walls. Visually, the church raises me up, even when Yarrow is being decidedly unpious, or when I’m too tired or preoccupied to hear the words from the altar. Our mass community attracts me visually as well. I love watching them trickle in. The Large and Confusing Family in twos and threes, the Somber Family already at prayer, the exuberant family, the fashionable couple, the mournful couple, the man with the lawnmower tattoo just above his receding hairline. The variety is thrilling, and so is the common enthusiasm.

Most of the women wear headscarves, at least part of the time, and it delights me to not be an oddity, to seethe diversity of scarves come in. I covet some of them, and simply admire others. I like the mystery the scarf gives to the wearer. I love the whole drama of the liturgy, and my own part in it as well

"You can never be overdressed or overeducated."

     ~ Oscar Wilde

I asked a priest, before my first tattoo, whether to get one would be an appropriate thing to do. My priest reminded me that the body is a temple and encouraged me only to tattoo art that reflected the sacredness of the body. I've always attempted to follow his advice. Recently, as I'm in the process of designing my newest, and most public tattoo, I've heard a good deal of negativity about them: they indicate an immoral lifestyle, they indicate self-loathing, or lack of education. Women seem to get the brunt of the negative press. According to one radio host, tattoos on "the female" advertise a lack of faith, promiscuity, and and attempt to be unfeminine. I'm a little disturbed by the generalizations more than the negativity. I'm sure there are people who are tattooed for these reasons, maybe..it is possible. I've never met such people, but I haven't met everyone, perhaps these sad people are out there. 

I can really only speak for myself. I love my tattoos, I love making the temple of my body as opulent as any cathedral. I love designing art that follows the lines of my body, that brings to light my passions, that creates a sense of the overall person I'm becoming, just as clothing, jewelry, make-up, and other additions do, only more permanently. Thanks to my art, I am unable to hide my faith, my passions, my attachments. I'm unable to become a chameleon, I'm forced to walk through that world as myself. Like the move to the land, my tattoos insist I live intensely, and fully. It is a lovely way to live, and an added benefit to the enjoyment of decking myself out in all the beauty I can hold.