There were graffiti, initials, dates carved everywhere,
much of it around doorjambs which had no doors;
much also around window frames where the air
just passed through—there was no more
glass, not even shards, anywhere.
Alice S. and Robert W. visited before the Great War.
They carved their initials, in 1912, with great care.
What happened to them, to him, two years later?
In Rome, I saw a locket of Byron’s hair
next to graffiti, initials, and dates
under a long glass case, written on wine-stained paper.
Did Alice cut a swatch of his before he went to war?
There was a girl taking a selfie—what about her,
posing with the graffiti, initials, and dates?
