My First Tattoo by Adrian David

Behind every tattoo, there is an untold story.
Some silly, some profound, some unforgettable.
I still remember getting my first-ever tattoo.
It is among the experiences I will never forget.

Back then, I was hardly fourteen.
Most of my relatives and friends already had a tattoo.
Dad was standing next to me as I held his hand.
Since it was my first time, I was feeling nervous.

When the man before me got his hand tattooed,
my heart skipped a beat as my turn was next.
The moment the tattooist brought the needle closer,
I shrieked as it slowly pierced my little arm.

With every prick of the needle, my skin felt a burning sensation.
But the physical pain was incomparable to the pain in my heart.
Reduced from a human to a serial number within minutes.
'A-7630' is more than a tattoo, it is my perpetual scar.

(Dedicated to the tattooed arms of Auschwitz)


--------------------
Adrian David writes ads by day, and poetry and short fiction by night. His poems explore themes of chaos, conflict, society, existential crises, and everything in between, from the mundane to the sublime.