I have four tattoos, all of which are words. I waited until I was thirty-four for my first one, initially it was a single line, "Do not go gentle". I've now added to that and completed half of the last stanza from Dylan Thomas's poem "Do not go gentle into that good night".
Initially, I got that first line for two reasons. First, it was for me, it was a reminder to not give up, to leave a mark, however small, in the world. It was also a reminder to be myself, to strive for the things that I wanted and the things I wanted to do, it was a reminder that I wanted to write. Second, it was for my father. It was a visual reminder of my connection to him and my love for him. If I can be a shadow of the person he is, I will have lived a full and good life.
My second tattoo came from "Ulysses" by Lord Alfred Tennyson. Initially I wanted "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.", and I still might get that (don't tell my wife, she thinks I have a problem...I might actually) but that was too much real estate. I wanted to have them in places that I could see, but that could be hidden if needed. So I went with "of heroic hearts".
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
That resonated with me. I read that as our hearts, the core of what we are is still strong, anything we set our minds to we can do and that, our will, our humanity, can carry us forward. Now an English major would probably argue all of that, but that's what it meant to me, especially at the time I got it.
The next two were the continuation of my first one:
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
I finished the end of the last stanza for personal reasons. Suffice to say, I read them multiple times each day as a reminder of fate, hope and the physical power of love.
Finally out of love of, respect for and connection to all those that came before me, I got the Farrell family motto, "Prodesse Non Nocere "(To do good, not to do evil) added as well.
While these words mean so much to so many, they are also mine. They are daily(and sometimes moment to moment) reminders of who I am and who I strive to be. I got them tattooed on my body so I could keep them close, so they would forever be a visual connection to what's important to me.
Why ratatouille you might ask? Well, in looking at the picture above, you'll see my one year old son, riding my shoulders, fistfuls of my hair in each of his tiny, yet incredibly Hulk like, hands. This is the only picture I have of all four tattoos at one time, so in a very tangential way, Johnny was controlling me to get this blog done.
Thanks buddy.
Have a good night friends.