Tattoo – Timothy Main

I could paint a poem
On your back
With a Chinese brush
And India ink.

And then, with a razor
Or pin or sliver of bamboo
And a stolen hotel towel
(to daub the blood
and excess black),
I could make it
Permanent.

I have seen this done
Before on television
And in movies. But
You would never allow
This violence of
Obligation, this enduring itch
Of commitment.

You could never abide
My words on your skin.

∼ Timothy Main