from The Tattooed Poets Project

I am proud to have my skin featured on The Tattooed Poets Project, which features flesh speaking out various poetics and prophecies.

This reads “when silence creates pattern/remove the middle/and engrave/the opposite.”

When asked to clarify these words, I explained:

“Out of the nine tattoos on my body, this is the only one whose words are mine. It comes from a poem in my second book of poetry, meant to wake up feeling (great weather for MEDIA).

I’ve had many people see this and ask what it means. I never grow tired of the question, because I find my answer always changes. For the most part it means to carve out the quiet in silence, which tends to become a pattern in existence. Wanting to speak OUT our silence(s) until the fear stops us. So, this is a reminder to untwist the repetition of silence and by engraving the opposite, one is encouraged to speak out and up.

I do this everyday with my poetry. I speak out of silence and away from its cage(s). I like this inked reminder on my body because I’ve existed inside so many variations of myself that felt haunted by silence. Fear of being shamed. Fear of breathing life into my scars. But this tattoo empowers me. It reminds me why I write.”