Tattoos

My wife just got a flying heart tattoo (she has a sunflower from before)

My daughter has at least seven and her husband has two more.

They asked me if I have a reason that to them I could express

As to why with all the ink around, I am tattoo-less.

I told them to keep their many tattoos I won’t be coaxed or wheedled

For it’s not the artwork I abhor--did you know they use sharp needles?

Sharp needles that they fill with ink before the process begins

Then a thousand times repeatedly they stick that needle in your skin.

True when completed on your body is art both charming and sublime

But to get there you have just been stabbed at least a million times!

Beside the pain, in ten years I might not feel as blessed

When I see my arm still sports a naked Viking woman with big breasts.

Tattooing is a true art form whose beauty I do extoll

Tattoos not only decorate the body but they can enhance the soul.

Many tell a story for certainly if you can think it

Then the tattoo virtuoso with her artistry can ink it.

But a tattoo is perhaps one gift I never will receive

Perhaps I’m just not meant to wear my heart upon my sleeve.

So in answer to their question – from tattoos I must abstain

Perhaps I’ll get one on the day when needles cause no pain.

But more likely, though I love their tattoos and the stories they embrace

My story is destined to be told by the lines upon my face.