2021 - Nounally

But the deep truth they whispered only to themselves: Every time you say “I am” — you are lying a little. You are a river, not a stone. And every time you say “it is” — you are closing a door that should stay open.

For when a child fell, she no longer felt the hurting of falling — she felt a pain , a noun, an object inside her that could be kept or discarded. When two friends argued, they didn’t speak of differing — they spoke of a grudge , a solid thing they carried between them. nounally

“In the river,” someone said.

Mira rose slowly. She picked up a smooth stone from the fire ring. But the deep truth they whispered only to

“You call this a stone,” she said. “Nounally, you are right. But watch.” For when a child fell, she no longer

“Is it a stone,” Mira said, “or is it the river’s holding of hardness? Is it a stone, or is it the river’s slowing? You have taught us to name things so we can own them. But you have forgotten: nouns are graves we dig for verbs.”