G.H. Plaag

from “Rotogravure,
Soft”

i was reminded

of a deathless place

in fargo, north dakota

imperiously soft

laughingly intractable

called bonanzaville

which featured

as though related

many uprooted buildings

granaries & firehouses

gathered as a curio

from different epochs,
more total

for its asynchronous claim

against ownership

the telephone wires

bearded with curlew

the centuries folded

an image in the telegraph office

of the great fargo fire

which burned almost

the whole city

the firemen’s hoses

choking out water

which froze as ghosts

in the sub-zero

crashing, i imagine

as a fine diamond mist