Tomato, Tomato

Every two weeks or so I am publishing an essay from an emerging writer. This week, we are publishing “Tomato, Tomato” by Helena Chung. Helena is a Korean American poet who was born in Seoul. Helena has an MFA from the University of Virginia and is currently working on a book of poems on the Korean foundation myth, Ungnyeo and the tiger. Helena’s poems have appeared in A Dozen Nothing, Pleiades, Quarterly West, Salt Hill, The Journal, and elsewhere. Subscribe nowIn 2021, I moved to Brooklyn with pieces of a poetry manuscript and no immediate plans for gainful employment. At the time, I had been dating A for almost two years. I felt like if there was ever a time to pick up and move my entire life it would be at 25, and if it would be for a man, it would be for this man.A got a big-time job in New York, as is expected of those who get advanced degrees in business. I had finished my (second) creative writing degree in 2020 and was restless from a year of staying mostly inside, dealing…