The Tattooed Poets Project: Gina Abelkop

Our next tattooed poet is Gina Abelkop, who shared this awesome portrait of Emily Dickinson:

Gina tells us:

"I've long loved Emily Dickinson and her poems and last summer took a trip to Amherst to visit her home and grave. I traveled to NYC after Amherst and booked an appointment for a tattoo to commemorate the trip; prior to traveling, I'd asked my friend and artist Susanna Troxler to illustrate a portrait of Emily to use for the tattoo. I brought the drawing to Mehai [Bakaty] at Fineline Tattoo in NYC and asked him to draw lilies and roses around the portrait, as those are two flowers Emily references in my favorite poem of her's. I get lots of compliments on the beautiful work from both Dickinson fangirls and people who think she's a great-grandmother of mine."

Gina sent us the following poem:

~ ~ ~

I Sit in No Sour Light

I can be a good woman         Venerable,

esteemed good women    tell me    how it is

to be good      Your gutsy wealth of love

slobbery all over lips of tubs    Smell clean

All of that            Swung lurid as titties

over shoulder    I’m not bad    Good women

of wide love and baffling extension       your eye please

~ ~ ~

Gina Abelkop swims in the river and dances to Bow Wow Wow. Her first book, Darling Beastlettes, is out now from Apostrophe Books.

Thanks to Gina for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday's Tattooed Poets Project!

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