Romantically Mine

He is a romantic by nature. He is
also impulsive, and no doubt it was on
impulse that he surprised me one day
with a tattoo which I thought was a
transfer and said joke over, take it off.
No transfer that; after all he was an
adult, father of three infants, my young
husband. The first letter of my name
was rendered larger than the remaining
four letters, all in what the tattoo artist
took for a reasonable cursive. But that
was so long ago not only is the red of
the heart entwined with the last letter
no longer red, but the name itself can
no longer be deciphered. Over fifty
years have passed since he  surprised
me and set himself up for an awkward
situation had he ever chosen to stray.
Is that faded tattoo with its illegible
name now giving him free pass to 
wander off, no longer locked in to a
name so blurred as to match the facial
features of the young girl he loved back
then? If so, he hasn't succumbed to
taking that irresistible bait, so perhaps 
I can conclude the symbolism of
permanence owes nothing to the tattoo.