iv_birdmad_image_appearances frAnk what if as part of human development, tattoos, instead of being applied by an artist, actually appeared through our skin at different times of our lives, perhaps marking unique events, special moments, plateaus, achievements, emotional landscapes, disappointments, blunders... what image would be appearing through your skin at this period of your life? and what other images would already be there? 010517 ... birdmad the "right now" would be blank i am in a state of flux i cannot seem to break free of i am lacking a direction the things i keep secret would be written all over my face the things i leave unsaid would appear on the tip of my tongue on my feet would be the miles i've walked and the places i have stood looking out into the world on my back near my shoulders the images of weights and crosses marking the times of loss (the deaths of my parents, love and friendship betrayed, the pondering of chances not taken around my ears in fine and delicate lines, all the images that music has ever created in my mind the word "desire" on every fingertip the universe of my dreams in miniature on my eyelids across my chest from shoulder to shoulder a jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces missing near the heart across my belly and my thighs, the depiction of all my indulgences and excesses on one leg the times i have stood my ground on the other, the times i have run away conflicts and struggles on one arm, desires on the other and everything i've been too blind to notice... ...right under my nose 010517 what's it to you? who go blather from