here to fade and last

I understand the pact is mortal,

agree to bear this permanence,

I contract with limitation, I say

no and no then yes to you, and sign

--here, on the dotted line--

for whatever comes, I do: our time,

our outline, the filling-in of our details

(it's density that hurts, always,

not the original scheme). I'm here

for revision, discoloration, here to fade

and last, ineradicable, blue. Write me!

This ink lasts longer than I do.

[Mark Doty {1953- } 'To the Engraver of My Skin' from Fire to Fire]

(This poem is about tattoos, but I read it as something quite more than that.)