A Poem I Wrote

Tattoos at Work

Colin keeps
a three stringed electric bass guitar by his dresser, so
he wants to get a bass clef on his back,
like a big dead eel.
I have a peach-sized
Skunk Ape face on my shoulder
that Colin think looks like Meatwad
from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Jocelyn has 3 peeling stars
The color of toddler band-aids on her foot and her name on
the middle of her upper back with a pair of cherries
that she originally wanted to get done in black,
but was persuaded otherwise.
Sarah has cookie-cutter stars on her elbows and kidneys, and
“Mommy’s Little Monster” webbed across the back of her neck
in long, incensed strands of black.
Pete has both family trees (banded and flowered,
looking fresh from the internet), one on each
shoulder blade,and his brother’s lifespan
under glowing, disembodied praying hands
hovering dangerously close
to the tramp stamp zone.
Ron J has his initials on one arm,
and on the other,
“R.I.P. Booga”