Tattoos

These people they mark their skin 
With permanent ink in an impermanent life
Perhaps so their willful scars will outnumber the unwillful ones
And they will feel somehow stationary, unbudging
In a much so budging world 
Where we are as fleeting as pinstripes in the thirties
As ephemeral as the loose change given to the unwanted man 
So yes, screw it, we will always be cursory 
But let's mark our cheeks with freckles from kisses from the sun 
Let's tattoo our passports with foreign cities 
And scar our hearts with neophytic loves 
Because no one wants to see the word love carved into your skin
They want to see it carved into your heart. 

-anna sluder

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