“Her sister's shoes. They sparkeled even in the darkening afternoon. They sparkeled like yellow diamonds, and embers of blood and thorny stars.”

“There are seven mermaid princesses and seven pearls. The reason I sing is to convey my love. The reason the pearl sparkels is to brighten the sea. And so, I can never forget...the sound of the waves or the warmth of the sea. ”

“But I have always thought that these tulips must have had names. They were red, and orange and red, and red and orange and yellow, like the ember in a nursery fire of a winter's evening. I remember them.”

“The one bit of color on the woman’s body was the bright yellow of the stilettos peeking out from her sensible trousers.Fuck me shoes. Damn. Any woman who wore those shoes had a streak of the unexpected. He wondered what her underwear looked like. Something delicate and lovely?”

“The stars are duller than an old pocket knife, they used to sparkle like five-carat diamonds.”

“The blood of a goat will shatter a diamond.”