Passion in the garden: An ornamental tomato presents itself

Is it possible to be in love with a tomato plant?

Earlier this evening, I sat on the porch swing and gazed out at the lone tomato plant in my front yard. Rain was dripping from the porch eaves, giving the tomato, the juniper bush and the grass a deep green color.

A small plant nearby was listing to the east, as if weighted down by its burden of raindrops. Daises near the street leaned in the opposite direction, as if they had been yearning for the sun on this cloudy day. The tomato plant stood upright in its wire cage, a short distance from the front steps.

I know that in meticulously maintained front yards, where lawns are snipped and chemically treated to perfection, there is no place for a tomato plant.