Paul Hlava and a Ring on the Tattooed Poets Project

Today's tattooed poet is Paul Hlava, who sent us this photo:

This is a simple tattoo, with a simple explanation.

"I had just gotten married, and my partner and I wanted something to mark the occasion, Paul explained. He went to Graceland Tattoo in Brooklyn, noting "We both liked the simplicity of a geometric shape and all the metaphors and implications of a circle, or ring."

Paul shared the following poem, as well:

Pendulum, Balance Wheel, Escape

Because I live in a clocktower

time moves in reverse.

When I eat I am hungry,

when I wake, the golden weight

dances at the end of its chain.

Gears twist like reptilian

claws of ospreys

planting fish in the sea.

The bells ring twice, once

in the distance and once inside.

The moon is rising just so.

I�m the steady center

of a spinning world.

Every triumph I will achieve is memory.

My daughters walked out on me

before they were born.

Undeveloped photos hang on the wall.

The apples have been moved

to another room. 

~ ~ ~

Paul Hlava's poetry has appeared in Narrative Magazine, the PEN Poetry Series, Acentos Review, and Best New Poets, among others, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has an MFA from New York University and was a Poets House Fellow. He now lives in Seattle. Visit him at www.paulhlava.com.

Thanks to Paul for sharing his poem and tattoo with us here on the Tattooed Poets Project!

This entry is �2017 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.

If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Yvonne's Tiny Tattoo: Carpe This Diem

Last weekend in Miami, I was talking to Yvonne, a dear friend of one of my wife's cousins and now, my friend too. I just had to ask her about this tattoo on her ring finger:

That's "Carpe Diem," Latin for "seize the day" on her ring finger.

When I asked her about it, she explained that, twenty years ago, she was married and was exasperated with her husband, because she felt that he rarely paid attention to her.

To prove a point, she removed her wedding ring and went out and got the tattoo, just to see if he would notice.

Not surprisingly, she said it took months before he asked her what was on her hand. Her suspicions had already long been confirmed, but the fact that it took him so long to notice only solidified her concerns.

Needless to say, the marriage ended. But, as they say, tattoos are forever. Yvonne has a constant reminder to seize the day and a cautionary tale for men everywhere - better pay attention, guys!

Thanks to Yvonne for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is �2017 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.