Inside the Prado,
she reclines on her small sofa, ushering
me closer. The light drips from Goya’s hand,
I imagine the small shallow breaths,
of his brush.
All the familiar women before me rise;
It was not the sexy but the sturdy that I so admired.
the strength of the Judeoes,
of my grandmothers, mother and daughters
It was the look on her face that has seen wars,
turbans and kippas and veils.
Maja a second skin,
that runs through my blood.

Her lightness shimmers on the black lacquer.
If it were simple beauty,
we could just go on. It was more.

Rita Azar studied English Lit at UCLA. She is the mother of two daughters, Aja and Coco Rumann. She was brought up in a Sephardic Jewish Community of Los Angeles. She has owned Rita Flora, a well-known flower shop, since 1987.