Jabberwocky

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

-Jabberwocky – Lewis Carroll

Now you may be wondering why I’m including Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky in a ModBlog post.  Well, the answer is simple, nbutterf’s tattoo that you see below is the artist’s interpretation of the Jabberwock itself.  Ania Jalosinska from Mantra Tattoo in Cheltenham, UK designed this particular piece using only the poem as a reference.

Given the poem’s nonsensical language, it seems only fitting that Ania took an abstract approach with the design.  Now nbutterf herself loves this piece, and much like Carroll plays with words, she also plays with her tattoo.  If you keep reading, you’ll see exactly what I mean.

So to have a little fun with the design she asked her friend Julia to paint over the tattoo with watercolors, giving it an entirely different look.  This is one of those few times where I am just blown away by the inspiration and execution of a piece.  Kudos to Ania for the design, and thanks to nbutterf for sharing it with us.

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