A Poem by Nikita Azad

Why watch birds in a burning world

after Katie Farris

Because the electric buzz of finches is unmistakable 
even next to train tracks
Because it reminds you of the curly-haired barber in Aman Nagar 
who has cut your father’s hair for twenty-six years
Because time sleeps in the air    
half-eyed & open-winged
Because the red mouths of two goldfinches in a fight 
are the colour of the lipstick you & your sister stole from your mother
Because joy is a four-winged sky-deity    
that sluices the air & sets it on fire
Because a robin sings to the whole universe    
but waits for no one
Because one day you wake up       wanting       
to be a mother & on day seven you have a house

Because what a way to live    
                                            heart in the air
song in your belly
                                                                                                    dirt in your feathers

Because there is always the next branch, always the next seed               
& an unworldly, bird-ly faith 
(fruits and worms will forever be juicy)

Because the outrageous flight  
the impossible journeys 
Because they say        
this Earth will always be enough

Nikita Azad (they/she) is a Punjabi-origin writer and researcher, who often writes about the natural world, gender, selfhood, and human-nonhuman relationships. They are also a PhD researcher in the history of science at Oxford University; a Nan Shepherd Prize longlisted author; and author of Dakhalandazi (Autumn Art, 2022), a Punjabi essay collection on gender, sexuality, and feminism in Punjab. Their writings have appeared in The Willowherb Review, Dust Poetry Magazine, Quince Magazine, History Workshop Journal, The Quint, The Indian Express, and more. You can find more about their work here.