Black tribal-style dragonfly flash design with swirling wings, a long curving tail and small star sparkles on a white background.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Tribal dragonfly design with trailing stem

Black and grey · Flash

A black dragonfly drawn in a bold tribal style, with swirling, hollow-looking wings and a slim body. A long, curving stem trails down to the lower left, ending in small star-shaped sparkles. The linework is solid black with small teal dots on the wings, and the design sits on a plain white background.

Dragonfly Wing Insect Stem Sparkle Star

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Your sister has pinned a dragonfly to the bodice of her dress, which is wrong, because nobody pins anything to a dress at a Fenland wedding unless they expect it to fly off. The marquee smells of wet grass and diesel from the generator, and Uncle Ray keeps trying to light the sparklers from the wrong end, so the children are screaming with delight every time a spark jumps.

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Your grandmother gave the dragonfly its name, and her rule with it. She claimed they hover wherever two people have quarrelled and then forgiven each other, so they can be trusted to be nearby on the big day. You think this is nonsense, but you watch the thing settle on the rim of the punch bowl, its wings hollow as stained glass. When the best man stands to speak, it lifts off and follows the thin ribbon of smoke from a sparkler up between the tent poles.

The smoke curls down past the bride's shoulder, and you realise the groom has gone from the top table. You find him at the edge of the dyke with his shoes in his hand, the grey water holding a dozen small stars that are not stars. He says he is not running. He says the dragonfly came down to him first, before anyone else had noticed it was gone. You sit on the bank beside him and say nothing, which is the only useful thing your grandmother ever taught anyone.

When you walk back, the sparklers have burnt out and the lanterns are swaying. The bride is standing by the tent flap with the dragonfly resting on one fingertip, perfectly still, waiting for the vows to begin again.