The Speaker

The speaker in "September Tomatoes" expresses regret at uprooting her dying tomato plants. As summer (the season for tomatoes) comes to a close, the speaker has trouble embracing the onset of autumn. Specifically, she regrets destroying the fruits of her labor. The speaker's nostalgia colors the entire poem. Her intense attention to the details of her present paired with her reflections on ancestral tradition demonstrate multiple timescapes.

The Tomato Plants

Borowicz personifies the tomato plants in her poem "September Tomatoes." Even as the fruits rot on the vine, "claws of tiny yellow blossoms / flail in the air" when the speaker uproots the plants (4-5). That they have claws and are capable of flailing in the air shows their determination to live. The speaker feels cruel as she uproots her plants because she has grown attached to them after "carefully [cultivating]" them for months (9).

The Fruit Flies

Fruit...