My Body Tells a Story (SSAA)

Text (as it appears in the work):

My body tells a story of my yesterdays and tomorrows.
My body tells a story: choices I made, choices I didn’t.

It’s my body to make beauty with however I please,
to cover, to paint, to keep untouched, to reclaim, to free, to love.

A tattoo adorns my body and reminds me where I’ve been and how far I’ve come.
I have the power to show something no one could see. Look, and you’ll see:

A blossom of flowers, an olive branch, a sunrise, a star sign, a name.
A lego, a robot, an animal, a castle, feather, a flame.

A ribbon, a mountain, a paw print, some music, a quote, or a map
somewhere on my body. A memory, a meaning, a story.

If my body tells a story and your body tells a story
and I see you and you see me, then I see you and you see me.

Each day is a battle that I fight. Each scar is a star that will guide me
as I go marching with lessons, reminders, commitments, and warnings
that I have to fight. That’s how I survive.

My lowest point, my darkest day, is bound to my body,
and when it fades the meaning won’t.

Ötzi. Tatau. Irezumi. Tatu.
So many traditions can still create something new.

The scars remind me to heal. They’re beautiful.
My body is beautiful. The truth can be beautiful.
Community’s beautiful. Life can be beautiful.

It’s my body to make beauty with however I please,
to cover, to paint, to keep untouched, to reclaim, to free, to love.

A tattoo adorns my body and reminds me where I’ve been and how far I’ve come.
I have the power to show something no one could see. Look, and you’ll see:

My body tells a story of my yesterdays and tomorrows.
My body is a story I’m still writing…

Program Note:

A story is a powerful thing… especially the ones we believe about ourselves.

Tattoos are about honoring something: a commitment, a trauma, a victory, a lesson, a memory. We each carry with us the people we were and the people we want to be. A tattoo is most often a symbol along that continuum. 

My tattoo (of the carousel-style horse that hung on the patio of a queer communal home I helped create) is a reminder of the magic, silliness, care, trust, and people that I will always cherish. I’ve known deep and unconditional care, and the ink on my arm reminds me not just of what I experienced but also of what is possible. 

Tattoo Monologues is a concert that celebrates the human spirit: how we survive, how we heal, how we march forward. I’m so deeply grateful to have collaborated with Miriam Davidson and the members of ANNA Crusis to help create a musical work that reflects not just the moving stories of the book and documentary but also the stories of the choir. I listened to their stories, their personal connections to tattoos, why they did (or didn’t) get tattoos themselves, and what messages they wanted to convey with this piece and in general. These conversations were instrumental in helping me craft the philosophy and tone of the choral work.

“My Body Tells a Story” explores many musical and lyrical ideas but is always unified by the core concepts of fortitude, autonomy, and self-actualization. Even when the music and the text are at their most introspective, they are never despairing or dark; there is always a light we can find, create, or share. This piece isn’t about the very real pain we experience in life. It is about what comes after and the story we tell. 

A story is a powerful thing.