Tapping and patterns

Tap, tap, a-rappa-tap tap

Announces, sadly,

The bar’s last call, but

The intricate patterns

Of skin-inking artists

Offers some solace after all.

Cliché though it may be (suggested by old films that romanticize war), I picture a lonely soldier stumbling back to his barracks, being comforted by the image or name of his girl-back-home on his arm or chest. From the Dutch ‘taptoe’ or Tahitian ‘tatau’ comes this evocative word. Tattooing as an amazing art form dates back to the Neolithic Period. 
Thank you, Betsy H.