66. Tomatoes

When home-grown tomatoes turn red, the gardener says, "Welcome. You've come a long way. How do you feel?"

The red tomatoes don't answer the gardener because they haven't heard anything and can't speak anyway. The gardener knows this.

Much of gardening concerns gesture, however. Much of gardening concerns waiting. Lots of gardening concerns work.

Sometimes a gardener needs to say something to something that's ripened, such as a tomato. Or a strawberry. Or a raspberry, right before the gardener plucks the raspberry, pops it into his or her mouth, tastes, and comes close to swooning. Gardeners tend not actually to swoon because stones and sharp edges always seem to be nearby. --Better to remain standing. Or seated.

Sometime a gardener just needs to stand there and talk to a red tomato, or to sit there and murmur like evening air, as birds make noise and bugs swarm.