Contents
Contributors
Archives
Submissions
Links
Home
Jim Goar
The Red Faced Bird
Iowa wanted to be free as radio.
Secession seemed the only option.
In this way the matter was resolved:
“Iowa, you’ll no longer see radio, you won’t.”
I
A tree sprouted from my penis. The red faced bird came to nest. When
I found auburn leaves on my sheets I encouraged the bird to go. It claimed
squatters rights. I called the police. They summoned a lumberjack. This
was not the outcome either of us desired. Now the red faced bird visits
on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
II
I’m barbequing in the snow. The red faced bird is watching me intently. I get the feeling that I’m late. I put some honey on the cloud. I offer the bird a Keystone. It accepts and drinks it quick. I’ve forgotten how to serve a cloud and ask the bird. It flies away. Worthless drunk. The cloud begins to burn. I begin to panic. I try to remove it. It falls through my spatula and into the fire. I feel I’ve committed a great sin.
III
The law has relocated the entire population. Hill people now live in valleys. Those by the ocean now live in the desert. Everyone has moved to their opposite location. In this way communities stay intact.
IV
A tree sprouted from my penis. The red faced bird came to nest. When I found auburn leaves on my sheets I encouraged the bird to go. It claimed squatters rights. I called the police. They summoned a lumberjack. This was not the outcome either of us desired. Now the red faced bird visits on Tuesdays and Sundays.
V
An elephant crawls under my house. Floor boards creak. Water lines burst. All dry land is soon gone. For eleven months I await the plumber. Just when I think I’ve been forgotten the red faced bird arrives. It’s come to borrow a pinch of thyme. I ask it for some help. It tells me to use a wrench. I do. The flooding stops. I open my cabinet. All the thyme is gone. I give the bird an olive instead.
Copyright 2005, Jim Goar nidus is an online publication supported by the Writing
Program at the University of Pittsburgh's English
Department.