About Nairn
Nairn Kennedy is a Leeds-based poet whose work has appeared in Orbis, Ink Sweat & Tears, The London Magazine, Stand, The North, Spelt, 14 Magazine and Under the Radar. He’s won second prize in the Ilkley Literature Festival Competition, has been longlisted in the National Poetry Competition, and been highly commended in the Bridport, amongst others, as well as being a runner-up in the 2025 Stanza Competition.
When he’s not writing poetry, he likes to read, develop software and drink more tea than is good for him.
Fire Fox
In Finnish legend, the Fire Fox creates the Northern Lights.
He canters on the snow with silent paws,
head down, brush twitching, waiting
for this moment, when hunters pause,
turning North, when cruise ship watchers
grip the rails, because
for a heartbeat’s length,
clouds relax, a frost-knife
shaves the air, the planet holds
its breath. He conjures ancient laws,
flicks his tail to whisk up snowflakes,
shreds them in the air with glowing claws,
ignites them with his sparking tail;
green fire flounces in the sky, throbs
light and dark, hemmed with pink and red,
dies down. He dusts his tail, ignores applause,
slinks off towards the point where sky lies down
with snow, where shadows hide,
dissolves in an eternity of white.