Fine line black tattoo of a small bird on a wavy line leading to the word Believe, on the inner wrist of a clenched hand.

Bird and Believe script on the wrist

Fine line · Other · Black and grey · Photo

A small bird sits on a thin wavy line that runs into the cursive word Believe, all in black ink. The linework is delicate and even, with the bird and lettering kept compact against the skin. The photo is a close view of a raised fist against a plain light background, with the wrist tattoo centred in the lower part of the frame.

Fine line Lettering Other Bird Wavy line Script Word

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Take it to an artist as a reference. A good artist will make it yours rather than copy someone else's tattoo.

A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Nell, the line to Dunmore went dead again on Tuesday, and I was the one they sent up the pole in the sleet to find out why. You'd have laughed at what I found. A wagtail had taken up residence on the topmost wire, bobbing along it like a bead on a string, and every time the wind pushed the cable it dipped and swayed and shook the join loose from its clamp.

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I knocked it off with the end of my spanner, and it went straight back to the same spot, cross as a landlady. I was all for cursing it until I saw the word. Someone, years ago and most likely a bored lineman with a tin of tar, had painted a name on the crossarm in curling letters: Believe. The paint had gone green at the edges and the wood beneath was soft, but you could still read it, and the bird sat right under the letters as though it had been waiting for someone to notice.

So I did what you'd have told me to do. I fixed the join properly, bound it tight, and left the bird its wire. Mr Gorrie at the exchange says the line has held since, and that a line with a bird on it is the only one he trusts. I told him that's a fine thing for a telephone man to say.

Come up at Easter. I'll show you the crossarm and you can tell me what you think the word was meant to mean. I've decided it means keep the wire up, but I'm open to better. The wagtail is still there, and the signal hasn't dropped once since.