Bookworms with Ink

I love tattoos. I don't have any, I'm not entirely sure I will ever have one, but I love looking at them and fantasizing about what I would get. My style is so changeable that I'm not sure there's anything that I would love on my body forever and ever amen. Also, there's the Buddhist side to me that thinks it's kind of weird, an attempt at permanence, a waste of time and money - but then I can look at it from the opposite side too, as another example of the impermanence of life, and ink, and another thing to accept and love.

Wow, that was off topic - the purpose of this post is to introduce you to Bookworms with Ink, a Livejournal community dedicated to literary tattoos. And if I were to get anything marked on me for life, it could easily be something like what they showcase. For a few weeks there, a while back, I was convinced I was going to get an E.E. Cummings tattoo:

love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places

yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skillfully curled)
all worlds

The whole poem... I think it would be absolutely beautiful, and it's something that I've loved for years already. I was thinking ribcage, or back (maybe aligned against my spine, as opposed to centred). But I'm not sure. And I know that once I start I won't be able to stop. Part of me wants to be covered (well, not covered... maybe one half sleeve, Japanese style) and another part of me wants to be naked and fresh and lovely in my natural state.

It's my constant wish: to be two things at once. I've often said that if I could have a superpower it would be to grow my hair as long as I wanted, whenever I wanted, so I could alternate between long and short, depending on my mood. Probably this is not what I would actually choose (hair growth versus flying... hmm, tough one), but I have these futuristic fantasies where things like hair and skin art and eye colour and all those visual elements are in our control on a day to day basis. I suppose when our lives play out entirely on the internets and our avatars wander around while our physical bodies subsist on vitamin filled IV drips, this will happen.

I can't wait.