Black and grey tribal phoenix tattoo with spread wings across a man's upper back, shown in a black and white photograph.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Tribal phoenix with spread wings on upper back

Blackwork · Back · Black and grey · Photo

A bold black tribal phoenix sits centrally on the upper back, with curved, flame-like wings sweeping outwards and a small bird head near the middle. The linework is thick and solid, with no shading or fine detail. The photograph is monochrome against a dark background, with the subject's head turned away from the camera.

Blackwork Back Phoenix Wing Bird Tribal

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Tom,

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The roof at Hollin Bridge went up in the night, the whole north span of it, and by morning the down platform was ankle deep in glass and the ticket hall smelt like a struck match. Mr Pardoe says the fire took three hours to put out and the bell went for forty minutes after it was done. I stood on the footbridge with my lamp still lit and watched the sky go the colour of brass.

Then came the thing I want to tell you about. Among the ash by the water column there was a long curl of iron, the old ventilator hood, bent right back on itself like a pair of wings coming up off the ground. Ted Marsh wanted it scrapped. I told him to leave it where it fell, and he laughed at me, but I have been going down to look at it on my breaks. It has the shape of something trying to lift.

Three weeks on, the first 06:12 to Leeds pulled in under the new canopy and a tawny bird came out of the signal box rafters and flew straight up through the gap where the glass had been. Nobody saw it land. I keep thinking about that, how the whole station had burned and something still knew the way out of it.

I have written to the council about the iron. If they say yes I will ask them to bolt it back over the gate, so every train that leaves gets to see it. Come home at Easter and tell me I am soft.

Love, Ruth