The Tattooed Poets Project: Leslie Marie Aguilar and Her Blackbirds

Our next tattooed poet is Leslie Marie Aguilar, who sent us this photo:

Photo by Clint Frazier

Leslie explains:

"When I was younger, my father used to play The Beatles records on repeat while he ironed his clothes on the weekends. Consequently, some of my earliest memories are punctuated with the scent of Faultless Starch and Lennon/McCartney singing 'Blackbird.' The five blackbirds that make up this design represent a member of my immediate family.

Photo by Clint Frazier

The moment I decided to attend graduate school in the Midwest, I knew I had to get a piece for my family that was inked in my hometown—Sacred Art Tattoos & Piercings, to be exact. (The owner, Brad Worrell, is absolutely incredible!) I wanted a design that would represent family and foundation. Now, my tattoo functions as a daily reminder that it’s okay to have roots and wings."

Leslie also sent us this poem, which first appeared in Looseleaf Tea:

WATER MEXICAN

Barreling through the air like a bare-knuckled fist,
I am raw hide & pink panties clinging to the edge
of my narrow hips as I leap into a turquoise tiled
swimming pool. I am a child, & I haven’t learned
how to swim yet, haven’t learned to thrash my limbs
violently beneath the surface to keep my head afloat.
I must have known then, the moment before I flopped
belly first into the pool, that I would float. I must have.
Months later, when my white friend asks if I can swim,
I’ll lower my head towards the creek bed beneath
the broken bridge where we are standing & say, No,
there are snakes in this water. Gesturing with her index
finger, she will point at the water moccasins gliding
beneath the water, & say, those Mexicans can swim.
I’ll laugh at the slip of her tongue, not knowing then
the water moccasin is a venomous snake that claims
the waters of Southern states. Its defense tactics are
often over-exaggerated as aggressiveness. Unless
threatened, the moccasin minds its own. I’ll learn
this years later, just like I’ll learn how to tread water
out of necessity, & she will learn how to swim faster.

~ ~ ~

Leslie Marie Aguilar was born and raised in Abilene, Texas. She has served as the Poetry Editor of Harbinger Journal of Literature and Art and is the current Web Editor of Indiana Review. She is also the recipient of a National Society of Arts and Letters Literature Award. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Bellingham Review, Iron Horse Review, Ninth Letter, Rattle, and Spillway among others. She is currently an MFA candidate at Indiana University.

Thanks to Leslie for sharing her blackbirds and her 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.

Sean Shares Two Circular Tattoos

As we patiently wait for this forsaken winter to end and for the city's tattoos to come out of hiding, my new friend Sean and I were talking about the site recently and he offered up his two tattoos for us here on the site.

First up is this piece on his upper left arm:

The tattoo reads "Blackbird singing in the dead of night...take these sunken eyes and learn to see... all your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free ...". This is, for those who don't know, a fragment of lyrics from The Beatles classic "Blackbird."

Sean explains how he came by this, his first tattoo:

"I had my Blackbird tattoo done in honor of my dad whom like myself, loved The Beatles. At the risk of sounding like a weirdo, it started from a dream I had that included the lyrics, 'All you need is love' in the shape of a peace sign. When I woke up, I tried sketching what I dreamt about (I still have the sketch that I drew with my finger on my phone), but it came out looking like shit. However, I was inspired to get a tattoo if I could perfect the design. After playing around with some of the lyrics to Instant Karma! (not the Beatles, but still Lennon!), Blackbird and All You Need Is Love, I settled on Blackbird, since that was supposedly one of my dad's favorites. Anyway, I literally spent months working on the design with my best friend, Darryll Brandwine who is great with graphic art, as he owns his own architecture firm in Las Vegas (D3 Design Studios). During this time, I stumbled upon a 'John Lennon' font which we were able to use in Photoshop. I liked this touch a lot because I felt it gave the tattoo a more 'authentic' feel. After a few different revisions, I brought it into Will [Sheldon at Saved Tattoo in Williamsburg]. Soon after he applied the template to my shoulder, I went out to my wife, Madeline to see how she liked it. Her eyes said it all, which meant a lot since while she was supportive of my decision, she was not really a big tattoo fan. I went back in, Will finished it up and I was very happy with my decision to get my first tattoo." 

Sean also has this piece, which I think is really cool, on his inner right wrist:

 I'll let Sean describe this Ensō, or  Zen circle, tattoo, as well:

"Religion was never something that I felt very comfortable with. However, as I got older, I began to see the value of having one. Coincidentally, over the past few years, a friend of mine has been urging me to try meditation as well as learn about some of the Buddhist teachings. I took to it almost immediately, as it didn't seem as 'restrictive' and 'invasive' as the religions I had come to know. I still joke around with people and tell them that you're not going to see me walking around in a red robe and a shaved head, but Buddhism has taught me a lot and I continue to read books and watch videos on it. Somewhere along the way, I came across the 'Zen Circle' and it seemed like it would make for a simple, nice-looking tattoo. Naturally, people always ask what does it mean and why did I get it. They have no idea what it is or even if it's complete. Like most people who have tattoos, I got it because I like what it represents (strength and enlightenment, for starters) and it IS done...haha. Anyway, Bella [Kozyreva] from Brooklyn Made [in Bay Ridge] did this one and while I envisioned it being smaller on my wrist, I really like how it came out."

Thanks to Sean for sharing his circular tattoos with us here on Tattoosday! Will we see more from him? Sean's final words on the subject were, "I'd say I am done with tattoos, but I said that after my first one too."

I'd add, every tattoo is your last tattoo, until you get the next one!

This entry is ©2014 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.

Lindsay's Grandfather Resonates in Her Tattoos

I met Lindsay in Penn Station back in August and she shared two tattoos, starting with this incredible blackbird inked on her thigh:

She credited this amazing piece to Grez at Kings Avenue Tattoo. He is one of those artists whose work I see occasionally in my travels. As always, I am impressed with his workmanship.

What does this tattoo symbolize? Lindsay explained, "I actually have the key as a necklace of mine that I found in my house and then the poppy is for my grandpa." And the blackbird? She told me, "I like the myths of death behind it."

Lindsay also has this tattoo on her arm:

Lindsay explains:

"This is my grandpa's suitcase and I actually found it with the key [from the op tattoo] and it was in the wall of my house. It was really awesome. It's like this really old style suitcase."

This is a great tribute to her grandfather and was also tattooed by Grez.

Thanks to Lindsay for sharing these awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 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.