Black and white photo of a shirtless torso showing fine line Chi-Rho symbols on both shoulders, a small cross on the abdomen and letters on the upper arms.

Chi-Rho symbols, cross and letters on torso

Fine line · Shoulder · Black and grey · Photo

The photo shows a shirtless torso from the neck to the waist, with two Chi-Rho symbols placed on the shoulders. A small upright cross sits on the abdomen, and letters appear on both upper arms. The linework is thin and solid black, with no shading, and the greyscale photo is evenly lit against a plain indoor background.

Fine line Lettering Shoulder Upper arm Other Cross Letter

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Nell,

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The big top came down in the rain on Tuesday, and Mr Ansell has finally let me paint the lettering on the cart myself. Forty years he's had that old board with the gilt chipped off the R, and nobody in Shrewsbury remembered how the lettering used to go. I found the old chalk outline in the bottom of the tack box, half under a horseshoe, and spent two evenings copying it onto tracing paper by the paraffin lamp.

Worth saying what I learned from Mrs Coyle, who sews the canvas. She says the crossed marks on the wagons were there long before the fair had a name, little letters the old showmen painted on their gates so the priest would bless them and the road would go easy. I told her I'd only paint what was on the drawing. She laughed and said the drawing was the prayer.

So I painted it. Two of the crossed letters went on the lid of the strongbox, one small cross on the flap of the ticket booth where the sun hits at noon, and the bold R and X for the ring-master's name on the side panels, which he insisted be exactly as wide as his hat. The gold leaf wouldn't take until I breathed on it, which is a trick I learned from you.

Last night the wind took the top off the tent, but the boards held. Ansell came out in his nightshirt, looked at the lettering in the lantern light and said nothing for a long time. Then he asked who had done it, and I said nobody, I had only followed the chalk.

Write back soon. Tell Dad the lamb is not for sale.

Yours, Tom