The Tomato That Took Over
The other day I wrote a poem about a tomato… but the bigger story is about the plant that it came from.
Last year, my first summer in my new home, I was determined to grow some stuff.
I failed miserably.
THIS YEAR- I’m even more determined to make this ish work. I have gotten compost, I have made compost (well I guess it’s technically still being made), I have put out bug killer, etc.
I have planted flowers, peppers, blueberries, and…. two tomato plants. I got a lot of these items from the Georgia Academy for the Blind when they had their big yearly sale.
I planted these things when they were just a few inches tall, and I had to fight the slugs that were eating them.
Once I got that under control, one of them took off. More than the other.
And it kept going. And going.
Now… it’s reached my porch. And I looked up how to make cuttings and it was STUPID easy. Stupid easy. So…. now I’m rooting more cuttings.
But the tomato plant hasn’t just taken over one part of my yard, and possibly more once I plant the cuttings, but it’s kind of taken over my life. My kiddos and I take care of it, feed it, look over the blooms, etc. Sometimes, I would rather be working on my plants than dealing with people.
I think this tomato has officially taken over mine and my kids lives. In maybe the best way possible. They’ve learned responsibility and maybe I can even get them to eat the fruits of their labor!
Love to all y’all,
Molly
A Poem for Summer, by Molly Wilkins
i carried a tomato today
it was brand new from my garden
perfect on one side
cracked on another
my fingernails explored the cracks:
rough, brown, & yellow
i wondered if they came
from growing up in life
or if it was from the outside bugs
that i had to help it fight off
i carried a tomato today
with the intent of washing it off
and eating it
i rested it
on its own
apart from the banana
that had grown brown in my purse
i carried it
carefully in one hand
apart from the other items i held
careful not to crush it
without thinking about it in my fist
i carried a tomato today
to all the places i had to go
i wanted to show my children
what we had grown
it would have been easy enough
to leave it inside
but i marveled at it
with a strange pride
and thought perhaps
we could all share
in its simple grace
