I wanted to get a tattoo
Of something that was always true
To remind myself by simple sight
Of something that is always right.
I thought of words, but words can change
Like “queer” no longer meaning strange
And alphabets can change a lot…
“So much for a tattoo”, I thought
But what about a picture that
Reflects the world and where I’m at?
A picture that will grow with me
No matter who I grow to be?
I used to love a Pokemon
But my favorite one keeps moving on.
I used to think that I was wise
But what I knew were often lies.
I used to be a man of God
But now I find the Bible odd.
And then, at once, it came to me!
An image only I could see
That would grow and change as I
Would grow and change and smile and sigh:
My skin, unchanged except by age,
My empty slate, my blank white page.
I’ll know, I know, I knew I’d see
I need no mark to just be me.