Blanketing Poem by M.J. Lemon

a giant butterfly tattoo
one of a flapping hummingbird
or just a tiny heart
discreetly chiseled
into the hindfoot
right above the heel

Names of famous people
idols or celebrities
on display in fading green ink

There's a zipper that
on closer inspection is
blurring a scar into
a biker jacket I imagine
someone some Easy Rider
maybe half
a century ago designed

Now I hear the loud ones
the declarations
Don't judge!
Only God judges!
You don't own me!

Next come the brash the bold
the ones that signal individuality
The skulls the daggers the knives
the flames the flaming skulls...
that may help one get past the entrance
to the social club

Fading out are
the life-size bones
the exoskeletons
that let me see inside out
But back are the exotic symbols
in exotic languages that you were told
are meant to say
peace to all things on earth
but really shriek
The head is as empty as the pockets

But where's Mom?

And the lonely teardrop below the
bottom left eyelash
is nowhere to be found

For those times when perfectly
sculpted arms and legs
feel neglected broken or
just simply naked