July 12 Fort Laramie

July 12

Fort Laramie

As America expanded westward, this outpost in the Wyoming

wilderness played a crucial role in the transformation of the West,... It

was also an important staging point for the U.S. Army in its dealings

with the plains tribes displaced by migration and settlement. From The

Official Ft. Laramie Map and Guide.

1

the foundation mounds house only grass

the wall stones going back to soil

baking in the sun

the lacquered buildings resonate,

my boots

on hollow floorboards the

officers' quarters

sleeping only bear-rugs

their skins aged to powder

their mouths open, silent

soldiers in the daguerreotypes

on the mantle stare one

face blurred.

on the wall above, a bow and arrow cross

the bow holding its draw

its sinew rotted

all fixed

behind the Plexiglas

2

inside the saloon I ease the heat---

an Old-Fashioned Sasparilla a piano

silent in the corner

billiard balls spread across a table

all an abandoned game

books in the gift shop

of mountain men

Indian wars

pioneer journals

a Fort Laramie Harmonica

an Official Fort Laramie Tin Cup

a girl with dull blonde hair

and a pink sundress

pounds a metal canteen

on the concrete floor around the water fountain

a mother studies a miniature

of tiny buildings

tiny tipis

little soldiers little

Indians

outside, three boys on the new-mown lawn

take turns shooting each other

and dying