Fruit

In a poem about pregnancy, it's no surprise that fruit pops up here and there. It's often said that marriages that bear children are fruitful. But fruit isn't always good news. Remember Eve? Remember Snow White?

• Line 3: The metaphor in this line compares a melon on two tendrils, or vines, to a pregnant woman with a huge womb on tiny legs. A ridiculous image, right? We can imagine her struggling to get around quite a bit. Note that the melon strolling is an example of personification, or a thing being given human qualities. Melons don't stroll, people do—unless we're in the world of this poem.
• Line 4: The red fruit in this line refers to how ripe and fruitful a pregnant woman with a full, round belly might seem. But it could also be a biblical allusion to the forbidden fruit.
• Line 9: Rather than seeing the woman as a round and delicious fruit, we see her eating the fruit in this line. Yet we still imagine this bag of apples making her womb round as a child would. This image of eating the apples seems to have set up a path of no return for the speaker. She's eaten the apples, she's made her choice, and there's no going back now.