letters bleeding together over time?

While I do want some text tattooed somewhere on my person, I've been told by several artists that it's a bad idea. I've been told that depending on the size of each letter, the tattoo is eventually going to bleed. I was told that the size of the letters I want would require touching up within 7-10 years just to be able to tell what it originally said. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the tat I want: a "love" poem by Otomo No Yakamochi...translated by Kenneth Rexroth: We were together Only a little while And we believed our love Would last a thousand years I told my tattoo artist the size I wanted it to be and he laughed at me and said that if I wanted it to be readable in just 10 years, he would have to make each letter at least an inch and a half big. I want it on my lower back, no more than 9 inches wide. Are the artists I spoke with full of it, or do they actually have a point? Does the color of the text matter...like, do certain colors have a higher tendency to bleed over time? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

yes, if you make the letters too small, it will bleed. Here is a link to a firemans prayer tattoo done by Lou Jacque, a fantastic artist. You must find an artist you trust to do your tattoo, but often customers want tattoos smaller than they can/are supposed to be. Where do you live? I might be able to recommend someone I know you can trust. Who did you go to already?

The artist I spoke with about the tattoo I want is a good friend of my boyfriend's. The artist I would have do the tattoo is John Weiss, at Uptown Tattoos in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I am from. I really like the fireman's prayer. The text is the same size I want for my tattoo. I haven't talked to John about it yet, as I am in New York at the moment. Some people in a community I belong to are looking to get text tattoos, and I pretty much told them what you just told me. I'm going to post the link to the fireman's prayer tattoo in said community. Who would you recommend, if anyone, in Minneapolis?

Thanks for posting the link. I would recommend Uptown Tattoo in MN, Tom Strom is an artist member. Im sure you could trust your guy there. I wouldnt trust many artists, though. Good luck and have fun! (Tell Tom I say hello).