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Graffiti at a Medieval Manor House Ruin in Oxfordshire
by Stephen Gibson

July 8, 2020 Contributed By: Stephen Gibson

Art by Laura Stanton

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?

Filed Under: Poetry Posted On: July 8, 2020

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