I’ve Got Her Name Written Here in a Rose Tattoo

Growing up, I couldn’t wait for all the perks that come with being an adult: to buy tobacco, to vote, to drink (legally), and most of all to turn my skin into a canvas for artwork that would stay with me wherever I went, however long my body lasted.

But then I turned 19, and I didn’t get that tattoo. This is because I didn’t know what that tattoo should be. As my initial one, I wanted it to be something with especial meaning, not just for my past and present but in the context of my entire life to come. Being the indecisive person that I am, I dwelled on it a year and then a decade, on into my 30s.

That whole time of trying to decide what I should get permanently imprinted on myself, I often considered the advice of my many inked peers. “Go for it,” they’d say, to paraphrase a composite of several conversations. “Just don’t get a band tattoo, because your tastes might change. And never get the name of any lover, because one day you might grow apart and even come to hate each other.”

So I finally did go for it. And I got, as my very first piece, a band tattoo with my lover’s name in it.

But I doubt I will regret the choice, despite such warnings from my friends.

First of all, it’s not exactly a band tattoo—it’s more of a band inspired tattoo. The summer we got married, the song “Rose Tattoo” by the Dropkick Murphys seemed to sound just about everywhere we travelled. We even played it at our wedding, and we told each other that one day we would get our names written on each other in matching rose tattoos. Years later, with our 5^th anniversary approaching, we remained fond of the idea, and so when reputable Kamloops tattoo artist Roadkill Riley opened up a new shop, True Spade, just down the street from where we live, we went ahead and made appointments.

Now here we are today, both branded with designs in honour of each other and half a lifetime of memories together. Hers, a modern purple rose design with my initials carved into the stem. Mine, a classic style akin to the cover of the album that contains the tune that was its inspiration, with “BRITTANY” emblazoned across it in a banner.

A bold choice, perhaps, in a world of such impermanence in general, including as regards relationships. And perhaps it’s naïve of me to think so, but I can’t imagine ours ever coming to an end. Even if that were to happen, we have held such significance in one another’s lives for long enough for our bond to be worthy of a lasting commemoration, whatever path our lives might follow in the future. As it stands, however, the promise of that path is aimed at more mutual support, more adventure, and certainly a lot more love.

(Perhaps some more tattoos as well!)

– Cory Stumpf