Sofia, age 23, from Siberia:
processed in Ellis Island, 1921;
destination Gackle, North Dakota.
You have to wonder.
Gackle, North Dakota:
founded in 1904;
located at 46°37′38″N, 99°8′36″W:
not even the middle of nowhere.
Population (1920): 424.
Population (1950): 606.
Population (2016): 291:
not exactly Boomtown ND.
Things to do in Gackle ND:
ˮGackle is home
to the Gackle Public Libraryˮ –
that is about the extent of it.
They must be doing
an awful lot of reading
up there in Gackle, ND.
And you have to wonder:
Did she find her home there?
Was it worth the loss of loved ones,
the heartbreak of exile, the long journey
all the way from Siberia – to Gackle, ND.
whypoetry 