Poem written for Tomball, ‘the city where I live’ for the dVerse Poets Pub prompt, City Love.
slowly, slowly (from the inside out)
slowly, slowly
embracing the past
changed ‘old downtown’ to
‘historic and charming’
and grows our city
from the inside out
slowly, slowly
a haven for makers
(sprouted from an unlikely
seed) the farmers market
grows our city
from the inside out
slowly, slowly
embracing the now
—not country-fried, not gentrified—
but evolving (diversified)
grows our city
from the inside out
slowly, slowly
accepting the different
celebrating the quirky
opening our hearts
grows our city
from the inside out
Tomball, Texas, I’ve
grown to love you
slowly, slowly
from the inside out
I was stymied by the prompt for participating poets to basically write an ode to the ‘city where you live’. What do I love about Tomball, if anything? I didn’t choose it; it chose me because of a remarriage that brought a blended family and a newish house that was big enough for all of us, as compared to my tiny 1920 wood cottage in Sugar Land.
I didn’t really like Tomball at first. Located 30 miles northwest of downtown Houston, the Tomball I first met was an old Texas country town with old Texas country town ways, with good ‘ol boys, a lack of diversity and restaurants where you earned prizes and your name on the wall for eating giant chicken-fried steaks. It had all the fast food joints of every other small town in the USA and not a lot of charm. A couple of dusty antique stores, barber shops, used tire stores, several dentists and payday loan shops graced the main street.
But that was a little over 15 years ago.
And in fairness, it also had good schools, a fair number of parks, and the sweetest old veterinarian who just loved our pets and hardly charged anything to treat them. And a brand-new farmers market, started in the spring of 2008, only a few months before we blended our families and became Glover Gardens together.
I didn’t think I had anything to say about Tomball when I first read the prompt. I didn’t think of it as ‘my city’.
But then I reflected again, and I couldn’t ignore the farmers market as a muse for this poem. It’s smack-dab in the middle of a rapidly changing ‘historic downtown’, and I fell in love with it immediately upon moving here.
My son and I made the trek to the farmers market every Saturday that we were both free from his junior high years until he left to go to college, and we still go when he’s back home.
Together, we watched numerous entrepreneurial ‘makers’ establish a following at the market and then start a thriving brick-and-mortar store.
We saw the market grow from less than a dozen vendors to almost 80, initially sporting just a few jellies, jerky, bread and crocheted things, then expanding over the years to a myriad of foodstuffs and products from a myriad of countries and cultures. The visitors began to reflect the diversity of the wares, and the town itself began to be more diverse and welcoming to all different types of quirky and wonderful people.
Take a quick tour with me.
I’m proud of the farmers market and our Glover Gardens visitors always get taken on a tour there. It has become a sought-after destination: “Aunt Kim, can we go to the farmers market?”
Reflecting on the farmers market makes me realize how much Tomball has evolved, and while it may not be the cause of the change in the city from a hick town to a more open-hearted, open-minded, diverse and enlightened place to be, it is the proof of it.
Thank you to Punam of the paeansunpluggedblog for the prompt today, which brought me around to appreciation of ‘the city where I live’, albeit slowly, slowly, from the inside out.
© 2024, Glover Gardens
I love the way ‘slowly, slowly’ echoes throughout your poem, Kim, which also reflects the way I imagine life in Texas – the slow Texan drawl and way of life. I love it when places stay original and retain their history.
Thank you, Kim, I really appreciate your feedback. It’s slow here but breathtakingly fast in Houston, where I work. I’m glad the ‘slowly, slowly’ resonated with you.
I must say, Tomb-all is not a very auspicious name. It sounds like one of those places we’d say, well, we had to live somewhere! But it’s the people who make a place, and your people look happy 🙂
I agree that the people make the place! And also that Tomball is an inauspicious moniker. It was originally called “Peck”, but then a man named Thomas Ball who was a U.S. Congressman rerouted the railroad here and was rewarded by the town being renamed after him. More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomball,_Texas
Beautiful writing, sentiments and photographs; I love the repetition, reading it it felt like you wrote about the city as though it is a child that is growing up, the best and as beautiful as it can.
Aww, I really like that feedback! A musician once told me that my poetry is more like song lyrics, and that’s what I hear in your comments about the repetition.
I love the repetition and love that Tomball accepts the different and celebrates the quirky, sounds like a great place to live!
You know, it actually is. But I didn’t think of it that way ’til now. Thank you for your affirmation.
Thanks for a fun and clever ode to your town Kim. I’ve had a similar journey with my town in NW Arkansas, although it is now too hip, expensive, and popular.
“Hip, expensive and popular” is where we want to stop short. It’s a fine line between being cool, retro and accepting and being somewhere like Seattle or Austin that’s almost unaffordable for regular people.
Yes and we’ve crossed the line.
I love that you shared with us what Tomball means to you. Slowly, slowly it has made a place in your heart.
Thank you so much for sharing with us lovely photographs and about the farmers market. What a lovely ode!
Thank you!
It sounds like the town grows on you… and i think this is how we handle it, and maybe we are also part in changing it…
Good point, Björn! I wonder how much like-minded people who attend, celebrate and promote goodness like the farmers market have a hand in making the change.
A great story, Kim. Your town sounds very typical for towns around the country.
I think it is. Thank you.
You are welcome.
Thank you, and yes, I think you’re right. Willa Cather once made a comment about how there are only a few stories, but they go on repeating themselves fiercely as if they’d never happened before (totally paraphrased here). I hear the truth in that, with cities, societies and individuals.
slowly, slowly
accepting the different
celebrating the quirky… 🙂✌🏼🫶🏼
Glad you like it!
I see you mention Willa Cather in a comment and this poem actually brought her to my mind. There’s something of the tall grass prairie reverie she invokes, the repetition of your lines like a soft, cool breeze whispering. Sometimes change isn’t a sudden shock to the system but a gentle and slow realization of the gifts in front of us. I hope that many places lovingly, if slowly, embrace the growth you’ve experienced in Texas. Thank you for this beautiful poem and your kind words on my blog.
Anna, you made my day! Any time I get to think about / discuss / be COMPARED to Willa Cather (even in the tiniest way) I’m a little giddy and a little taller in my shoes. Thank you so much for the thoughtful commentary you’ve provided.
Sometimes places do choose us. I’m glad it seems your city has done that. The farmer’s market looks wonderful and all the people look friendly and welcoming. And the cat? With the hat and glasses. Amazing. I would have stopped to take a picture, too.😍
Yes, that cat is the STAR of the gallery. And yes, places choose us sometimes, just like people choose us. And maybe that’s ok; I’m not sure I would do the best job if I was just choosing for myself. 🙂 Thank you for your comments.
Spot on, as usual. It’s been fun watching the evolution of both the town and farmers market.
This reminds me, we’re overdue for a catch-up walk through the Farmers Market. 😁
And as soon as it posted, I realized I was Anonymous…which makes it tough for you to know who’s ready for a catch-up 🤦♀️
Would love to!!!!
I lived in Tomball TX for 7 years and my sons were born there. Nice to see the improvements.
Nice to meet you, Colleen! How long ago was that, and what are your pleasant memories of the place?