I was born

with this freckle

gentle

on my nose

this mole

taking hold

on my side:

bound

to decompose.

‘Cause nothing

lasts forever

even tattoos’

printed ink.

 

No, no

nothing lasts forever

even tattoos

printed ink.

You say tattoos

last forever:

But I say

forever’s

just a myth.

 

Skin stretched

shared

bared

raised bumps

cold.

Lobs of color

shapes swirls

shone

underneath one’s

clothes.

 

Close your eyes

draw your fingers

‘cross my

speckled chest:

Give new meaning

to heart worn

on bare breast.

 

I chose from

colored swatch

endured

the needled hour

to bare storied ink

on naked skin

stretched

and scoured.

 

Don’t tell me

tattoos

last forever,

or

I will ever

feel regret.

My skin

is bound

to fall

from bones

unknown

from now ’til then.

 

So bury me

in the ground,

simply

let me drown,

as my story slips

from fingertips

that once held

my naked

down.

 

‘Cause nothing

lasts forever

even

tattoos’

printed ink.

 

No, no

nothing

lasts forever

even

tattoos

printed ink.