Wild Dog Under My Skirt

I think this poem reflects the respect of the Samoan culture and the independent, brave thoughts of the author. "I want him to bring out his chisel and hammer /and strike my thighs/ the  whole circumference of them/ like walking right around the world/ like paddling across the whole Pacific ocean/ in a log" The author wants the tattoo to be done, this is her sincere wish. I researched about the Samoan tattoo, I learnt that tattoo or Samoan people is an honour, it signals for energy and blessing. Tattoo is a big thing for Samoan people, before they go to the tufuga, they will need to search for their identity first, set up their mind, and then go to the tattoo. I can imagine the author is excited about getting her tattoo done, she compares the process of tattooing to "walking right round the world" "paddling across the whole pacific". Walking round the world and paddling across the ocean will both give a person great courage and a strong heart, this is what she thinks tattoo will give her, energy and blessing. This is also the traditional thinking in Samoa for tattoo. Also I know that tattoo is very painful, so normally it will take about 2 or 3 weeks to complete. Here she might also expresses the feeling that tattoo process is very painful , so she feels like time goes very slow as if travelling around the world.

I think there is also some feminism thoughts in this poem. "I want my legs as sharp as dog's teeth" "I want my lags like octopus" "I even want my legs like cetipedes". The author is a female, normally women want their legs looking cute and lovely, but here the author obviously does not want cute and lovely legs. The author also mentions at the beginning of the poem that she want black tattoos, not blue or green. So I think the author want her tattoo to be a symbol to prove that she is a strong person, she has the willingness to become a strong, capable woman, not just care about beauty like many other women. I totally agree with her, actually I think there are too many vain women in this world, they are the main reason woman and man are not equal. When some women are complaining about men do not respect them, I think they need to think about are they worth respect. Avia is obviously a woman see ability and success in life as very important, she wants to "bite strangers" "catch rats and eat them", to overcome difficulties in life with her courage.