"If I Am Not For Myself" ... Simon's Tattoo

I met Simon a few months back in Bowling Green Park, after I spotted this inscription on his right forearm:

This quote reads, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, who am I?"

A great inscription, for sure. When I asked Simon to whom it is attributed, he said Hillel, a great Jewish religious leader and thinker who lived over 2000 years ago.

The quote has a third line, ”And if not now, when?" 

This, Simon told me, he "couldn’t fit on there," so his wife has it tattooed on her back.

Hillel the Elder is considered one of the great Jewish scholars and is oft-cited when studying meaning and explanation of religious readings in the Torah.

Having never seen a Hillel tattoo before, I asked Simon if he had any particular reason for getting this tattooed on him, and in such a visible place. Simply, he replied, “It’s a great quote to live by.”

Fair enough.

He had the tattoo done at Addicted to Ink in White Plains, New York.

Thanks to Simon for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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Katie Carries Her Father's Heart (and Her Mom's and Brother's, Too)

As a tribute to dads today on Father's Day, here's a tattoo from earlier in the week:

This tattoo, on the upper left side of Katie's back, is more of a family tribute, than just a father's honor, but her dad did have a hand in the design.

The words are from the last line of an e.e. cummings poem, "i carry your heart with me":

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

The three hearts were drawn by Katie's mother, father, and brother. As she sees it, she is always carrying their hearts with her at all times.

It's a nice tribute to her family.

This is one of three tattoos that Katie has. The font used is designed to look similar to cummings' typewriter-style of print.

The artist was Cash at Addicted to Ink in White Plains, New York. Work from Addicted to Ink has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

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

Anthony's Skate and Destroy Tattoo

Just a brief note...despite the Tattooed Poets Project for National Poetry Month, I still plan on spotting ink on the streets of New York, and posting it here. This is one of those posts....

I ran into Anthony outside of Madison Square Garden on Thursday, April 9, during the lunch hour.

He is a skateboarder with four tattoos, the most visible of which curves around his inner right forearm:


This tattoo features the pentagram logo for Thrasher magazine, a periodical devoted to the skateboarding lifestyle.


He added the "Skate and Destroy" text to the banner below the design, as it is a popular creed among skaters, and graces some Thrasher merchandise:


Anthony, who has been skateboarding for nine years, had this tattoo inked to commemorate his passion for the sport. The piece was created at Addicted to Ink in White Plains, New York and tattooed by Mike.

Thanks to Anthony for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!