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1 " Basket of Figs” Bring me your pain, love. Spreadit out like fine rugs, silk sashes,warm eggs, cinnamonand cloves in burlap sacks. Show methe detail, the intricate embroideryon the collar, tiny shell buttons,the hem stitched the way you were taught,pricking just a thread, almost invisible.Unclasp it like jewels, the goldstill hot from your body. Emptyyour basket of figs. Spill your wine.That hard nugget of pain, I would suck it,cradling it on my tongue like the slickseed of pomegranate. I would lift ittenderly, as a great animal mightcarry a small one in the privatecave of the mouth.Ellen Bass, Mules of Love (BOA Editions Ltd.; 1st edition (April 1, 2002) "
― Ellen Bass , Mules of Love