I didn’t choose a specific painting by Degas, but I focused on his ballerinas. The first stanza refers to the general image that is brought up at the thought of ballerinas. This is also the way they are portrayed in his paintings.

The second stanza hints that they may not be as perfect as they seem. My intention with this piece was to talk about how many ballerinas and dancers have eating disorders. I made this stanza purposely ambiguous for this reason.

The obsessing is about their figure, and the refrain is not eating. I added the dark apartment for another image. The last two lines were a direct contradiction of the last two lines of the first stanza.