Where in the World is Red Bird? by Alice Oleson

Multi Genre collection
46 pages
8.5" x 5.5" single signature with hand sewn binding
Published June 2016

Where in the World is Red Bird? is a collection overtaken by a deep sense of searching, of longing, of conclusion without finding. It is centered on experiences that are so woman, and something is made sacred. It is a meditative, inward, yet wholly engaging piece, worth a read to remind us of our own intense searchings and selves.

In Alice's words, this chapbook began as a search for a baby, a son. She will never stop seeing him find her. He will always be the red bird.

First Kiss

A white bird flew into a locked place.
A red bird cried.
A black bird laughed
a throaty laugh of redemption,
and this one lady just cried and cried.

A white bird asked:
have you ever been to this place
you’ve never been?
A red bird calculated something important,
integral to all of their survival on an abacus.
A black bird was your little girl’s soul.

This mighty, furious chain threw things
across the room. You tugged and tugged
on the door to get them out. With him,
you really did. This gentle man with arms
of Titan, rivers, he brought your Holy whistles
back to you, your grandfather’s songs.

A red bird says “I love you.”
I don’t even know any white birds.
Cec and Roger battle all the time
in the worlds they go. Dad is alive
but he died many years ago. He visits
every time the two-note bird sings.
Roger will never go away. That was
some cloud he flew. Nothing real
is ever right out on the scene of things.