But if the poem is a metaphor for desire, what should we make ofthe metaphor itself? The poem describes an apple. The apple is theobject of one’s desire. We may say, perhaps, that the apple is a stand-in for the loved one. We, along with the apple-pickers, reach for it,straining. We desire it, can almost taste it; the fruit is red and ripe,sweet and tempting. And what would we do with the apple, once wehad it? Well, the answer is obvious: we would eat it.
This is where I see the connection to consumption shine through my prominently within this field, when we want a food it is so we may consume and enjoy it. While sex is not the direct consumption of the object or your desire, in a way the act itself mirrors or imitates eating and consumption. Think about a passionate kiss or bite, the closeness between two bodies, do we not indulge in each other the way we do food?