Shall I choose a tattoo for you?
Perhaps you’d like a celtic band
or nepalese prayer, or even
a set of Roman Numerals
as if they’re numbering the ten
commandments. No, let them circle
like a clock. A clock that can’t tell
time. A clock with no hands pointing.
Saying nothing. Just the numbers
spinning round and round whenever
you try to take a breath.
Pediatrician Kelley White has worked in inner-city Philadelphia and rural New Hampshire. Her poems have appeared in Exquisite Corpse, Rattle and JAMA. Her most recent chapbook is A Field Guide to Northern Tattoos (Main Street Rag Press) She received a 2008 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant.