Tableaux: Four 19th Century Photographs

1. Somewhere Indians are walking across America. One is a woman caught in stride between two white birches, her eyes on the ground, her mouth biting open a word while the wind shreds the lake behind her. 2. A boy wakes alone in cold New England air. From his window he watches his father’s breath mix with the steam from cows’ urine. A white blanket of sheep has unrolled across the hill, and the yellow dogs who ran and ran have now disappeared. 3. A glass necklace floats on her white breast just as she herself floats inside his lens while he watches from under the dark hood— her small black eardrops hang perfectly still, her long white neck and cleavage ready to be frozen forever by the touch of his finger. 4. As the deer ate from the deep lawn and the fish jumped near the willow trees, the big white ferry paused briefly before sliding back again across the lake, completely unaware of its brightness and its beauty.