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poet laureate of the peak - august 2006

The Riley Graves, Eyam

in a hillside field, a low-walled enclave
is for the Hancocks who died from plague,
seven buried within a few days,
most on 'AVG 7TH 1666'

the names and burial dates only
are on headstones, carved as sharply,
crudely, part-obliterated,
as faces who've watched their whole family die

 

© Alec Rapkin

 

Picture: Alec Rapkin, Poet Laureate of the Peak
 

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