Tattoos

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Tattoos

I don’t have one single tattoo on my skin,

But I could have so many

And paint my body with all the quotes and advice

I’ve gotten over the years,

But

When it comes to needles I’m not the best.

Although, if I could stand the pain,

I would imprint Steve Jobs' words

Somewhere in my lower left arm,

Quoting at the Stanford Address, 

“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.”

Because sometimes I take myself

A little more seriously than I should.

On my upper left arm I would have

Ella Fitzgerald, reminding me that:

“It isn't where you came from;

It's where you're going that counts."

So that I don’t stress out too much about

The beautiful journey that is life.

From my good friend Ryan I’d have

On my right deltoid, hidden, but always in

The back reminding me that change is good, saying:

“When you can no longer change the situation,

it's time to yourself.”

So I remember that

It isn’t always my way or the highway.

On my right bicep I would have:

“Be happy,” from my mother,

Followed on my left bicep by my friend Charis  

trying once to snap me out of it, saying:

“What good is an unhappy person to the world?”

So that I never sulk for too long.

Somewhere where I haven’t figured out yet,

Probably running down my right shin,

I would take what I think to be the best line 

From the book Eat, Pray, Love, 

Which says:

“When the past has past from you at last, let go.”

Reminding me to learn, but to not hang on.

And from the same book I would have:

“Fear? Who cares?” So that I remember that fear

Is not to be feared.  

From the movie Maid in Manhattan,

I would have, on my left shin:

“What defines us is how well we rise after falling.”

To remember that failing is human and necessary,

But that rising is paramount to our existence.  

My mother’s words would make

An appearance again, this time  

Written in the middle of my chest:

“The sun comes out for everyone,” she says

To remind me that God loves us all,

And that we’re all equal under the sun

In this world.

The feel good quotes that I don’t know who wrote:

“Miles to go before I sleep”

“A positive attitude is contagious”             

“Have faith that you will reach your destination”

“Nothing that isn’t worth it, is not a little scary”

“Unencumbered by history, invent the impossible,” and 

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”

Would go down both my upper thighs, so that if I ever weaken

I know always to move forward.  

From a foreign movie

If I could write on my vocal cords, I would have:

“Speak as if there were no tomorrow to take it back”

As Lord knows I know exactly how to say the wrong thing.

Unintentionally, however, unforgiving.  

But at the same time, I would write

what my lover said to me once:

“You’re blessed to be a blessing, Cassy.”

To remind myself of the good I’ve done

in this life.

My friend Jamie once said to me:

“Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.”

Which tells me to draw and accept that I can’t erase,

So I better be able to learn from my mistakes.

This, I would put all over the palms of my hands.

From an old friend, quoting the Beatles,

Around my belly button, I’d remind myself:

“The love you give is equal to the love you take.”

Because at the core of my being  

I simply and deeply believe this to be true. 

On my left foot, I’d always walk strong

with what my good friend Josh said to me once:

“Never settle for less than the absolute most

That you deserve in anything that life has to offer.”

Followed on my right foot by what

Madonna once said:

“Better to live one year as a tiger

Than one hundred as a sheep.”

By my heart, I would take all these

Quotes and summarize, what I think they say:

“Feel and breathe in the moment.

The future will come.

You are the master of your own definition.

Ask for forgiveness when you’ve made a mistake.

Learn from it and move on.

Take in how beautiful you really are as

an imperfect human, and as a creation of life.

Because all that I am, I make.”  

Tattoos are not for me, and

Since I couldn’t handle the pain

of getting all of these quotes on my skin,

I’ll have to keep them to myself and hope

That I never lose my mind so that I can remember the

Little pieces of advice I’ve received over the years, 

From quite a few powerful minds

That were there for me  

At the right place, 

At the right time.

I am a Peruvian-born, American-citizen,

French culture fanatic, raised one summer

By a few countries who likes to try to remember

To breathe a little deeper and enjoy

Life a little more, because: 

“One day [my] life will flash before [my] eyes.

[I want to] make sure it’s worth watching.”

-- Unknown.

©2014 Cassandra Huidobro