send in the…

By John Blase | August 14, 2014 |

the tattoo artist hesitated and said

you know, I do a lot of images of him

but what you’re wanting is something

sorta blasphemous. you get that?

I told him I did, and that I did not care.

so he inked what I asked: a purple crown of thorns

across my forehead, three blue tears drops

falling from my left eye, a black bruise beneath

my right eye, and four jagged red holes

one on either side of each wrist.

man, they’re gonna say you’ve got a messiah complex.

I said it is complex but its also quite simple –

its not improving the world, but participating in it.

as I left the shop he laughed and said

good luck, and god bless. and brace yourself.

I stepped into the sunlight and it felt like

being pushed from a womb into

the center ring of a circus already in progress.

but there ought to be clowns.