It's obvious

    beauty is a postage stamp，

    a composed self-portrait

    of Frida Kahlo

    wearing a simple necklace，

    an image chosen by the USPS

    not because it was like one she painted

    for Trotsky. Of course

    beauty could not include

    imagery of hammer and sickle

    or black monkey leering

    over her shoulder or parrot

    twisted under her chin.

    And not the one with snakes.

    Not the one of her

    all butched-up， hair cropped short，

    wearing one of Diego's suits

    after they split for the final time.

    Not one with wheelchair， spinal-brace，

    or scar down her long trunk.

    Forget the one of her cloven wide open，

    a jungle of history and myth， of poetry

    burgeoning forth from her innermost.

    Most definitely not

    the one of her wearing the collar

    of thorns in memory

    of Jesus and Trotsky

    and revolution

    lost.