The planter

If we scaffold fruit why don’t we scaffold ourselves

treating tomatoes like a root vegetable

I cannot be left neglected unattended like a bulb for the spring

i require drip irrigation and some shade

I thought it was okay to not know how to grow

that it was a part of being this kind of human without a green thumb

Then I was gifted a planter box

me, the girl who killed the pothos that her mom bought

I left it directly in the sun the seeds never took root

pulled up one radish smaller than the pointer finger tip that dug it out

carried it around with me for 2 days to show everyone I could

Before I bit down, earth and all

I wanted to see if it even tasted small

It did and I do and now I know

you can’t just expect that shit to grow

I need trellises for vines, to spread and dig in

water in my mouth and the sun on my skin

i can’t be put in the back crowded with the peas

hoping for some shade not knowing how to be

It’s okay to have needs and wants and to know your place

it’s okay to have rules and structure and places to brace

it’s okay to feel small and to not know where I fit

But it’s not ok to die because my environment