Tattoo

“Garage Sale” by Ted Kooser (2004)

“Garage Sale” is another poem from Delights and Shadows. It bears similar setting and imagery to “Tattoo” and there is the sense of heartbreak in the poem. The speaker is alone with the wife who runs the sale and observes her absent husband’s items. The speaker notes the husband’s clothes and boots—using description to indicate his possible aggression, abandonment, and threat—and his tools, which are all broken. There is a clear comparison to the vanity of the man in “Tattoo.” Wondering at the absence of the husband, the speaker helps the woman carry tables into the garage when it starts to rain. The speaker leaves “so empty-handed” (Line 20), wishing they could continue to help the woman.

“Flying at Night” by Ted Kooser (1980)

This is one of Kooser’s earlier poems, but it captures the conversational tone and Midwestern landscape. The speaker is on an airplane, looking out the window. The vastness of the sky and thoughts of its dying galaxies leads the speaker to imagine a farmer shining a light with care on his little corner of the universe. The city lights, compared to celestial bodies, are a draw as an alternative to the farmer’s loneliness. The rural landscape and the sense of loneliness are similar to elements in “Tattoo.”

“In The Basement of the Goodwill Store” by Ted Kooser (2018)

Again, as in “Tattoo” and “Garage Sale,” a character goes through used things, in this case, an old man is trying on glasses in the resale store. Unlike “Tattoo,” the speaker here directly identifies with the old man and realizes all he wears is indicative of the passage of time, which the speaker, too, will inevitably embrace. The ideas of aging present in “Tattoo” are similar here as is the importance of used items.