A nun told me once, that as Jesus died,
his mother’s breasts wept for the first time in years,
staining the ground beneath her.

She’s standing in a room full of children.

A stucco of Virgin Mary hangs on the wall.
Jesus splayed across her lap. Mary is looking straight up
into the sky, lips parted; Xanax tongue. Feverbreak eyes.

The procession takes turns crying into our friend’s mother.
She has the softest chest. By noon her blouse is warped –
hardened bruises from our wet open mouths.

Emily Falkowski is a queer, full-time tattooist and self-taught interdisciplinary artist based out of
Providence, Rhode Island. Her work appropriates Christian iconography, martyr texts, and
biblical lore to tell true stories about her upbringing and community. She recontextualizes young
queers, addicts, and lust-struck working-class teenagers as saints, miracle workers, and holy
bodies. Emily’s work describes the ecstasies and sufferings of her community with the same care
and love as a devotee of Christ describing his resurrection.

Emily’s work has previously been shown in World’s Fair Gallery, and her writing has
been published in Black Warrior Review. She is proud that hundreds of tattoo clients across New
England wear her art on their skin. She is grateful they have allowed her to collaborate on their
skin stories.

You can find more about her and her work on instagram @tattoosbyemilyfalkowski