Black and grey script tattoo reading strength in fine line lettering across the middle finger of a hand.

Strength script on finger

Fine line · Hand · Black and grey · Photo

A hand with pale nail polish is held up against a wooden floor, with the word strength written in cursive script across the side of one finger. The linework is fine and even, filled in solid black with no visible shading. The black and white photograph uses strong directional light and shadow, with the hand in sharp focus and the background softly blurred.

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 Ada, the ink on this page is still wet, so forgive the smudge at the end of the line. Your father brought the copybook back from Gravesend with a note pinned to the cover saying the agent wants the tenant's name spelt out in full. I thought of you at the kitchen table last winter, tongue between your teeth, practising loops until your wrist ached.

Keep reading

Mrs Pryce says a word written without lifting the pen keeps its nerve. I wrote one on the back of a stationer's card for you to copy, the word you asked for the week the fever took Aunt Lil, the one the sisters carved above the infirmary door. Strength. I have carried the card in my apron since, and it has gone soft at the corners from being turned over and over.

When you go into service on Monday, the mistress will be hard and the back stairs longer than anyone promised you. Copy the word onto the inside of your finger before you leave the house, where it will catch your eye at the sink and on the dark landing. Nobody reads a finger but you, so no one will think it strange.

Burn the card once you have it by heart. I will know you have, because the next letter will come back in a hand that no longer shakes. Your loving mother.

More like this

Black and white photo of a fine line laurel wreath tattoo on the inner forearm, with leaves curving up from crossed stems.
Small laurel wreath on a forearm
Black and grey fine line outline of the world map on the inside of a wrist, with the hand resting palm up on a light surface.
World map outline on a wrist
Black and grey fine line tattoo of two crossed arrows on the inner wrist, shown in a black and white photo with the palm turned towards the camera.
Crossed arrows on an inner wrist
Fine line black botanical vine with leaves and small flowers wrapping around a wrist, photographed against a window blind.
Leafy vine band on a wrist
Black and grey fine line tattoo of a semicolon with a small arrow above and another below, on the inner forearm near the wrist.
Semicolon and arrows on a wrist
Black and white photo of a small fine line semicolon tattoo on the inner wrist of a raised hand.
Small semicolon tattoo on inner wrist
Small black fine line tattoo resembling an Om symbol on the inner wrist of a hand raised against a black background.
Small fine line Om symbol on the wrist
Black and white photo of a fine line arrow tattoo on the inner forearm of a woman whose hand rests near her chest.
Small arrow tattoo on a forearm
Black and white photo of a small fine line wave tattoo on the inner wrist of a raised hand.
Small wave tattoo on the wrist
Fine-line black heartbeat trace tattoo running diagonally along the inner forearm of a hand with dark green nails, against a dark background.
Heartbeat line tattoo on a forearm
Black and white photo of a small fine line tattoo of script lettering on a line like a heartbeat, on the inner forearm near the wrist.
Fine line script on a heartbeat line
Black fine-line script tattoo reading love yourself running diagonally along the inside of a forearm, in a bathroom setting.
Love yourself script on a forearm

From the plentytattoo archive, uploaded by a user. Is this your work? Ask for credit or removal.