Marked Woman

Daily Prompt: What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

I was in my 20’s I wanted a tattoo and I wanted it on my shoulder.

At that time, we still called them tattoos, not ” tats ” and they weren’t something that everyone was doing. Women didn’t really start getting them until the 90’s.

So my choice was a Wolf.

Wolves have always been special to  me- I saw the last of them in the area I live in during a snow storm in the late 1960’s. Late that night  my Grandfather and I watched them stop in our front yard, they got their bearings and then they were gone.

I was really keen on the idea until it really sank in that the wolf tattoo was proudly worn by rednecks, bikers and boys who played heavy metal and wore more makeup then me.

So I went off the idea.

My Mom suggested I get a flower instead, a pretty one on my shoulder. I chose  Nightshade.

Then Goth become a thing and Nightshade was popping up all over the place. I liked the Goth culture. I wasn’t a part of it though.

So I let the idea  go.

I remember when it was I fell in love with the idea of getting a tattoo.

When I was little Jiffy Pop Popcorn used to give away little rub on tattoos  and I used to pull my Big Sister rank to score every single one that made it’s way into our house.

I also remember at some point I got tired of looking at it and I would go into my Mom’s vanity and use her nail polish remover to take the little tattoo off. I hated the smell and I always vowed to give the next tattoo from Jiffy Pop to my brother or sister- but I never did it seemed like it was just days later I would be back at my Mom’s vanity and spilling her nail polish remover all over the place and getting rid of another tattoo.

Looking back on it now, I’m glad I never got those tattoos- it takes a lot more then nail polish remover to take those off, doesn’t it?

amm

Happy Bees

Word of the Day Challenge: REGRET

Tartini’s Dream by James Marshall, 1868

I regret

the doors that I did not slam shut

the windows that I closed when it was raining

I regret

the kind words that buzzed from my lips like happy honey bees

sweetening the world for everyone who patted me on the head and said ‘hello’

I regret

the minutes and seconds I  gave away, threw away like confetti on New Years Eve

I regret I didn’t keep  a single moment, a little sweetness for myself.