Today's post is noteworthy as it features the final photos taken by my old camera. A day after this encounter, the screen cracked, and that was that. I've been living on borrowed cameras ever since.
Today's tattooed poet is Tameka Mullins, a poet who blogs at her site Lyric Fire.
Tameka chose this tattoo design because she was a high school drama major and she dreamed of becoming an actress. The tragedy and comedy masks are a popular tattoo design, especially among creative individuals. They have even appeared on Tattoosday before, as seen here and here.
Tameka elaborates:
I actually collected objects (paintings, art masks, etc...) with the thespian symbol over the years because I felt such a connection to the image. As I grew older I realized I loved the symbol so much because to me it summed up life. Happiness, sadness, joy, pain, elation and deflation. These are the emotions that drive us, crush us and propel us and are at the center of almost everything we do. As a writer I look to capture, explore and expand on these emotions in my projects.
After a night out parting with her best friend, Tameka got an ear piercing and this tattoo at Sacred Tattoo in Manhattan.
Tameka is a native Detroiter who loves writing, networking and cultivating great relationships. Her professional background includes work as a public relations professional, radio segment producer, project manager and consultant for publishing and non-profit organizations. She wrote her first poem when she was 5-years-old and it consisted of just two words: "I dream." She believes that with persistence and passion dreams can be transformed into goals which become reality. Her novel Letters to Chyna, which delves into the emotionally charged issues of adoption is currently being reviewed and considered for publication.
There are certain signs I look for when I am scanning a crowd for tattoos. Colored hair and/or facial piercings are good, but not always reliable, indicators that someone may be inked. A guitar case, you would think, also favors the theory that its possessor has tattoos, but it's not always the reality.
So when I spotted a tall woman walking out of Penn Station carrying what appeared to be a guitar case, I took notice. And, she had a neck tattoo that resembled this pattern:
Despite being in a hurry, she let me shoot this photo of her forearm tattoos:
She explained that the one on the left arm features her mother's initials (HLH) under the phrase "máthair mo ghrá" and the dates 2-23-25 - 1-5-09". The tattoo is Gaelic and translates to "Mother, my love".
She explained that her mother died earlier this year and, before I could react, she explained that the right arm is a memorial to her husband (AMS), who died thirty-three days later.
Her right arm reads "Fear chéile mo ghrá" which means, "Husband, my love".
In an attempt to express condolences, I said, "Wow, it sounds like you've had a bad year. I'm very sorry".
But she was not down about it and said that actually, despite a rough year from a family perspective, it had been a good year for her personally.
She indicated that she was running late for rehearsal and I asked her if her band had a website. She started to spell the name "L-E-Z..." and I knew instantly what band she was in. The runic tattoo on her neck was familiar because it had stood for the great drummer John Bonham. Leesa is the drummer for the all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band, Lez Zeppelin.
It was only later, after researching a bit, that I learned that the band's guitarist and de facto leader Steph Paynes, had announced on January 5, 2009, that the other members of the band were leaving, and three replacements, including Leesa, were subsequently selected.
I am assuming that Leesa's reference to a good year, personally, had much to do with her joining Lez Zeppelin, and embarking on a tour.
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