In the dying evening, when the sun has passed on
but its memory remains
you stand beside the jousting grounds
and listen for sounds of war
among the gilded houses
The river is out of sight, so too the city walls;
a hundred years ago
there was coming and going much like this
until the balance shifted
You look for the shadows of those who walked away
and find ripples in the air,
thunder and lightning in the distance
You wonder if you know too much
or too little
You wish that names on Norwich graves
did not fade so quickly
This poem was written for a commemoration service at St Augustine’s Church, Norwich, on 3 August 2014. It contains references to the parish as well as to the first world war.