d. h. lawrence e as odes ao corpo feminino i

figs

the proper way to eat a fig, in society,
is to split it in four, holding it by the stump,
and open it, so that it is a glittering, rosy, moist, honied, heavy-petalled four-petalled flower.

then you throw away the skin
which is just like a four-sepalled calyx,
after you have taken of the blossom with your lips.

but the vulgar way
is just to pout your mouth to the crack, and take out the flesh in one bite.
every fruit has its secret.

the fig is a very secretive fruit.
as you see it standing growing, you feel at once it is symbolic: and it seems male.
but when you come to know it better, you agree with the romans it is female.

[to be continued...]

in d. h. lawrence, os animais evangélicos e outros poemas
(lx, relógio d'água,1994)