Ona Gritz

THE ELEPHANT AND THE DOVE*

Diego Rivera revered
imperfections in women.
A road of incision traced by his tongue.
His kisses pausing and slow at a mole.
Beneath Frida Kahlo's flamboyant skirts
his cheek rested tender on misshapen legs,
on her torso riddled with scars.
She too must have looked at that
much older, overweight man
and found the beauty there
just as he used his bright palate
to paint gorgeous portraits
of greed, and she made stunning
her own open wounds.

*Previously published in Bone and Tissue.

Ona Gritz's poetry has been published in numerous online and print literary journals. In 2007, she won the Inglis House poetry contest and the Late Blooms Poetry Postcard competition. In 2009, she placed second for for Lilith Magazine's Charlotte Newberger Poetry Competition. Her chapbook of poems, Left Standing, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2005. Ona is also a children's author and columnist for the online journal, Literary Mama. She has been nominated for five Pushcart prizes.