The Rose, a sprawling poem by Pittsburgh poet, Ed Steck was his response to a suite of 9 collages that New York visual artist, Adam Marnie made by cutting up photographs of a hydrangea still-life, which were mailed to him in early 2012-resulting in mirrored explorations of beauty, redaction, and the porousness of language and image. The 35 page poem was written in this collaborative process over the two year correspondence yielding three sections: The Grid, The Rose, The Desert.