There has been several requests to publish the poem which was read during Friday's meeting by Rotarian Rob Roland.  Rob has asked the Rotary office to publish "An American Tattoo" by Belmont Rubens.
 
An American Tattoo
I left my home just ahead of a slamming door
To chase the cold yellow moon.
I thought I'd never make my train, 'cause the river's rising soon.
Oh, there's a color on the wind tonight,
Hold tight to your ink and pin.
And don't believe in anything that's not written on your skin.
I beg my soul to sing a cotton-field hymn,
That soars high above white clouds.
Beyond the prickly tide of yesterday that made our parents proud.
A blood black river's rising, while echoes of Thelonious
Float on waves of liquid sin.
Injected dreams and destinies are written on his skin.
If you happen upon a Carnival of colored lights,
Of chance, and marvels to win,
There you will meet Johnny Rebs with their catechisms written on their skin.
Searching for an answer among the numbers
Etched in my arm and my head
Our principles have gone up in smoke with the innocent dead.
I stagger, bewildered among my abandoned aspirations.
Pale limbs on the battle field.
Drunken priests and weeping prostitutes-society's wounds revealed.
All along the crumbling wall they still wail a warrior's oath:
"Praise to God... please let us win."
Their master piece is the epitaph that is written on their skin.
-Belmont Rubens