Black and grey pen drawing of a compass rose with an arrow, trailing ribbons and the words Time flies like an arrow, shown as a tattoo design.

Compass rose and arrow design with quote

Fine line · Black and grey · Flash

A compass rose with N, E, S and W labels sits on a vertical arrow, with a feather near the top and ribbons trailing from a feathered arrow fletching at the bottom. The compass centre and star points are shaded with fine hatching and stippling, with light scattered marks around the ring. The phrase Time flies like an arrow is set in spaced capitals beneath the drawing on a white background.

Fine line Compass Compass rose Arrow Feather Ribbon Text Quote

Find an artist for this

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 Hetty, the bosun has nailed the compass card to the galley beam, which is why the stew has tasted of brass polish since Tuesday. Mr Gale swears the needle has pointed south for three days, and he says it with the gravity of a man reading out a will. I told him a compass that lies is no worse than a cook who tells the truth about the mutton.

Keep reading

The real trouble is the clock. Captain Orme wagered his pocket watch against the purser's ledger that we would raise Cape Finisterre by noon, and we did not, and he has since blamed the arrow. Gale carved one into the mainmast, feathers and all, with a ribbon of rope knotted at its tail, and he reads it aloud each morning as if it were scripture. Time flies like an arrow, he says, and we are only the poor sods who have to chase it.

Last night I climbed to the foretop with the supper pot and fetched the compass down, because nobody else would touch it without gloves. The brass was warm from the lamp. When I turned it, the needle swung back to the south as stubbornly as the purser, and I stood there with a ladle in one hand and the ship rolling under me, wondering which of us had got the bearings wrong.

So I have stopped correcting it. I stir the pot, watch the needle point back at the coast we left behind, and tell myself that is simply the way the wind is going. Write soon, and keep the kettle on for me. Your loving brother, Tom.