I Was Not a Naked Tree

I was born in a land where Spanish was the ground where my tongue grew roots, but during a dry weather, when rivers thirst for water, I was told by a bystander that to live in another country, I had to embark into the waves of a new language.

And I, just like a tree who was moved to another soil, had no choice but to enroot into the earth where I was re-planted. At first, it was difficult to absorb the water that I was fed from, I hardly consumed any of its nutrients, but eventually I aged in knowledge and I started swallowing whatever I was given, even after being uprooted.

Though, I admit that despite growing new roots in an English speaking land,
I still couldn't produce the correct pronunciation for the fruits coming out from my mouth. I lived in a state where feeding fertilizers such as grammar was not a top priority. It was a luxury that only a few could afford. So I just went with the flow of nature until I found
a helping hand who advised me to either hire someone to transport me where I belong - the south - or to continue growing my roots, but this time deeper into a dictionary.

Upon the advice given, I immersed into verbs and nouns to fulfill my brain's demand. It was an exhausting journey that for a moment, I thought I wouldn't withstand because I found it difficult to search deeper and deeper into rules without a proper guidance.

So I ended up growing leaves as verbs and housing nouns as birds. Every time my leaves fell, I would fly some nouns in its place. To me, it seemed as the proper thing to do: it sounded right, no one complained, plus I was not a naked tree, I had birds covering my branches. I was giving out words, but most importantly, it seemed everyone understood me.

However, one day, a cold winter came by and my birds flew away creating a misunderstanding that I couldn't fix until Spring brought new leaves to my mouth for me to speak again. And now, I am just hoping to be a normal tree who has birds and leaves, but also someone who knows how to house them and grow them, in the appropriate seasons.

Written by: L. L.

Prompt: your view on using verbs as nouns when it's not correct.

2013