The Tattooed Poets Project: Russ Woods

Our next tattooed poet is Russ Woods:

Russ tells us:

"This one was my third tattoo, and the one I have the best picture of. It's an illustration of an abandoned lighthouse in Denmark by one of my favorite musicians, Jens Lekman. You can see the source if you scroll down to the April 17th entry here

via http://www.jenslekman.com/

The tattoo was done for an absurdly reasonable price at Anonymous Tattoo in Savannah, GA. I unfortunately did not get the name of the artist."

Russ sent us the following poem, which was originally published in Sway Press issue 2:

THIS MORNING WAS A ROCK IN THE MOUTH

of a cave I came across fly fishing.
It had a word written on it I couldn't
figure out, except that it made my mouth
move something like "azimuth" or "coriolis"
or some other word I can't hold at once
& I said it softly while inhaling,
like an apartment fire you keep
in your chest when your town is too dark.
The fish I caught were scaleless & sang
I'm still in love with you like a choir
you hold in a box next to your ear
when you're shaking too hard to stand
& the altos lit matches all at once in unison
& that cave lit up like a bronze statue caught
in a floodlight & all our parents were there
with knives in their teeth, looking hard at me
& asked where you were & I said you were
in surgery & they asked what was wrong
& I said you were in surgery & they said no
what was wrong that you needed surgery
& I explained how the doctors don't know
how it got there but on the x-ray there is a
tiny not-you that is just like you but dead
& it is growing & pushing the you-you out
& they have to act fast or there will be only
not-you, dead-you left in you & the fish started
crying & their matches went out & alone there
I said that word again & again like it was your name,
like I was a nurse in the wrong waiting room.

~ ~ ~

Russ Woods directs us to his poetry portfolio site at http://moonbears.biz. He is the author of two books coming out this year, Wolf Doctors (Artifice Books, March) and Sara, or, the Existence of Fire (Horse Less Press, Fall). Recent/forthcoming publications include Salt Hill, Guernica, Columbia Poetry Review, Denver Quarterly, Gulf Coast.

Thanks to Russ for sharing his tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday's Tattooed Poets Project!

This entry is ©2014 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.

If you are reading this on another web site 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.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Claire Nelson

Well, dear readers, I've been waiting to post this next tattoo for over a year, ever since Dorianne Laux posted it on her Facebook wall last April and directed me to it. This amazing tattoo belongs to Claire Nelson. Behold:

This photo was taken shortly after the tattoo was done by artist Ron Henry Wells, who graciously allowed me to copy it from his site and reprint it here. He noted that he "used a antique typewriter that [he owns] as reference". He was also swift to point out that the picture's not that great, as the curve of Claire's thigh makes the tattoo look a little warped, but he swears it is straight. I would beg to differ, as the photo really captures the beauty of the tattoo and the wonderful artifice of the tattooist.

Claire sent me a newer photo for a slightly different perspective:

 

Claire explains this incredible tattoo:

"I love writing, tattoos and typewriters. When I met with Ron at Anonymous Tattoo in Savannah, Georgia, he seemed as psyched about doing my tattoo as I was about getting it. Ron asked a few simple questions. “How do you feel about birds?” I felt good. “Flowers?” I also had positive feelings about flowers. And then, we were off. Two sessions and some intense pain later, I came out with this amazing tattoo. Writing will always be part of my life, and now so will this tattoo."

Claire also shared this poem: 

Kazoo Serenade

The last nice thing you said to me

was “Your breath smells
like vodka,”

as I hummed at you

through a kazoo.
It was an

original composition;

maybe not

technically perfect—

I wasn’t concerned

with mechanics.
Who needs rules

when there are kazoos in the world?

I did an accompanying jig

on a cracked patch

of sidewalk.

Why is cement

always damp
on summer nights? It made such a

satisfying smack

against my bare-feet,

cool and wet,

like the familiar kiss

of a person I rarely see.

I could have danced circles around you

all night

until we were both too dizzy to know

melody from moment,

beauty from spit and plastic.

Instead, I unbuttoned
the pocket

on your shirt, and slipped the kazoo inside.

I don’t need retrospect

to tell me

you don’t deserve

a kazoo serenade. Oh I wish

it was about deserve

and not desire. 

~ ~ ~

Claire Nelson is a senior Dramatic Writing major at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. After graduation Claire will be moving to Tallahassee to pursue her M.F.A. in poetry at Florida State University.

As for Ron, he is currently working out of the Boston area, but occasionally is a guest artist at Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Claire for sharing one of the best tattoos we have seen in this year's Tattooed Poets Project, and for sharing her poetry as well, here on Tattoosday.

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site 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.