Confessions of a confused soul: Heart on Skin
“A tattoo is a true poetic creation, and is always more than meets the eye. As a tattoo is grounded on living skin, so its essence emotes a poignancy unique to the mortal human condition.”― V. Vale
I don’t remember when and how my fixation with tattoos began. All I remember is that I knew what tattoos I wanted, the only thing was when. Somehow around me, tattoos are perceived to be symbolizing rebellions and I knew the moment I would talk about getting one it would the beginning of a never ending war.
I waited for almost 4-5 years before finally taking the plunge and getting not one but three tattoos each carrying a deep meaning for me.
I spent many nights trying to find the perfect image that would convey what I want and most importantly an image that would still be meaningful to me ever after 2-3 decades.
It all began with stars. For all that you have been reading on my blogs, you might know that I call myself the eternal dreamer, even my twitter profile name is The Dream Catcher so when it came to my tattoos it very evident that they had to play a huge role.
The first tattoo I got was that read – Dreamer with the D that resembled a dream catcher. This one was for the eternal dreamer in me; the one who dares to dream and the dream catcher was for catching all those beautiful dreams that are created every moment. When he put the needle in for the first time and started working there was a huge smile on my face. ( A detailed post on The Tattoo Artist shortly!)
He was perhaps expecting me to be a bit scared but perhaps my desire to have them was so strong that the pain was not at all felt. Every prick of the needle for me was reminiscent of the pain one feels when one has to let go of a dream, the hurt when one dream breaks even before it can come true and most importantly the pain one undergoes while fighting with the world to make that dream come true. This is it! My heart seemed to say.
The next tattoo was Privy Trifles with infinity and a feather. Privy Trifles is a name that gave me a second lease of life, a new birth – it showed a newer me to me, brought back my confidence and most importantly gave me strength. It denotes the possibility of standing up again after having fallen down to your worst and hence this name had to be etched on my skin. A reminder of all those troublesome times, of those beautiful memories this name brought along and of my love for writing (which is denoted by the feather). This is a love affair which will continue forever.
Last but not the least, a star for my desire to touch them!
Not many know my life story and those who know always push me to share though I am very reluctant. But they tell me you should share it not to show your weakness or strength but to show others that after the darkest hour is when the sun shines the brightest. Someday, sometime I might gather enough courage to share my story as well but till then these three tattoos tell my tale in the most apt manner. Somewhere in between them is where I lay, and they make me smile every time I see them!
P.S: The title of the post is inspired from this quote Wear your heart on your skin in this life by Sylvia Plath.
