Ode to a Croton

I have this little plant with red and green and yellow leaves, and it's really quite pretty. Or it was.

Sometimes I forget to water it for a week...or two weeks at a time. It's leaves grow dry, and start to crack and wilt. Then I water it, and I can see the leaves perk up before my very eyes, like magic. It's strange to see a plant respond so positively so quickly to just a little bit of love and care. I worry, though, that all the harm and neglect I put this little plant through will eventually cause it to give up and die. Living things are only but so resilient.

A Croton like my little plant (Source: cowtownplanet.com) 

Today I noticed my plant drooping and wilting. I hadn't watered it in...god knows how long. So, I poured some water into its pot, and within just a few minutes it was starting to perk up.

It was then that I remember being told that talking to plants can help them grow. Whether it's the exposure to extra carbon dioxide, or whether plants get lonely too...no one REALLY knows, but it seems to work. I stooped over the plant and began to speak to it. At first it was just,"Hi plant, how are you?" But I realized that if the plant answered my question there would be bigger problems at hand. So, I apologized to it for being so neglectful. I felt sad for treating the only living thing that I was responsible for besides myself without any thought or kindness or respect. I don't know if plants have feelings, but if they do, I know how mine would have felt. I talked to it for probably longer than I reasonably should have, confiding in it some of the things that have been on my mind lately, and it felt good to finally say some of those things out loud to something that wouldn't judge, not just me, but anyone.