The Green Bird
The green bird visits me every day.
I do not know her name or her origin. She perches on the tree trunk near my window, spreads her wings, and looks around. Quite the same way that I look around to catch a glimpse of the world.
Sometimes, she gets berries to munch on, as an early morning snack. Sometimes, she just sits there and cleans her beak. She is restless, never spending more than a few minutes at a spot. Perhaps, she is also in a perennial hurry like most of us, humans.
I hope she knows what she is chasing in life.
My day feels incomplete if I don’t spot the green bird in the morning. It is a magic spell that sets my life straight. I watch in revered silence, her every movement.
I live in a brick-and-mortar enclosure. Maybe I am jealous that I don’t get to flap my wings and soar high. The grass is always greener on the other side.
We have a sprawling garden in my hometown, in the countryside. I can live there amidst an array of trees, far from the hustle and bustle of the city.
I can have a multitude of birds around me singing heavenly choruses day after day. I can sleep on meadows and sit on tree trunks gleefully. No walls or windows to restrict my access to the flora and fauna.
But, I choose to live in the city. Much like the green bird that sings by my window.
My soul feels liberated in this concrete haven. I am content with this confinement. It makes me feel safe.
I am happy to have choices. I am gratified that I have the comfort of a home from where I can watch the world outside, at leisure.
I can step out and merge with this world when I want to; at any time of the day, unlike in my hometown where women are given an instruction manual for their lives.
They are told what to do and what not to do. Their lives are controlled by men and other women. Their freedom is loaned for a fixed tenure.
No amount of green birds can indulge me there.
When freedom is lost, everything is lost. When identity is erased, the soul is trapped. When biases cloud the sky, pain descends on Earth.
The green bird symbolizes my freedom; my eagerness to live my life on my terms.
Blending with the daily grind of life is as lovely and soothing as being part of nature. The eagerness to spot birds, especially the green ones, is characteristic of my wish to do something unique in life.
The canvas I see through the window is perhaps a leaf out of my life. I am an external observer of the scene, as much as I am a part of it.
