birds

In Mary Oliver's poem, "I Will Try," birds represent the beauty in the world. She refers to the bird simply as "red bird," with no "the" or "a" preceding it, almost as if it were a name. She uses repetition to show how her attitude changes even though there is no drastic change in her surroundings.
In "Bluebird," the bird symbolizes purity and freedom. The bird inside the man's heart yearns to be free, yet he keeps it trapped underneath his layers of "toughness."