Trena Tackitt

I still remember waiting for the year 2000 to start.

The first time I went to Russia, my aunt bought me an icon as a gift from Sergiyev Posad. About 6 inches tall, it depicts the virgin Mary in her signature blue veil, with baby Jesus in one hand and a cluster of white lillies in the other. The gold lettering shimmers in the light, so I have the icon hanging where the sunlight catches it when I wake up in the morning.

Even the smallest tree can be beautiful. Merry Christmas to all; never forget the reason for the season! ❤️ "May the God of hope fill you...

"Is that a different canvas?" "Yeah." I brushed the eraser crumbs off the white rectangle on my lap, then blew softly over the sketch I'd...

I squinted at the mirror on the far side of the room, trying to watch as K.'s needles whirrled, plucking out a new design on my skin. My eyes ached, straining from trying to look too far to the side while I simultaneously tried not to move. Not that I could get far; the side of my head was stuck to the smooth blue leather of the tattoo chair the same way my thighs did to car seats in the summer. I wondered if the faint wrinkles from the stiches in the leather would leave an i