The Ballerina
When Roman is assigned the task of censoring a ballerina from a painting, he feels that it is immoral, partly due to the beauty of the ballerina: "In it a ballerina floats about the stage. Her left arm ascends into the brilliant wedge of an unseen spotlight. A corona of feathers laurels her black hair." This description makes the ballerina seem ethereal and beautiful, making his task seem more difficult.
Science imagery
In the following passage, Marra depicts love and intimacy in scientific terms: “The calcium in collarbones I have kissed. The iron in the blood flushing those cheeks. We imprint our intimacies upon atoms born from an explosion so great it still marks the emptiness of space. A shimmer of photons bears the memory across the long dark amnesia. We will be carried too, mysterious particles that we are.”
