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The Halfway Line on the Other Side

Alex Saynor

Saturday, December 20th, 2025

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 When you could walk all around the ground
we stretched the laws of the land
to the halfway line on the other side.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 There we would stand by the segregation line
or mingle over half-time pies
like it’s a paradise of the lion and the lamb.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 When you could walk all around the ground
you could find a viewpoint, then leave it for years
knowing it’s there if you want it again

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 with a different configuration of the unknown
with whom you have no nodding terms
but respect in quiet acknowledgement.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 When you could walk all around the ground
finite pages were torn off the book of games
with visitors you would never see again.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 So here is your moment; what do you say?
Good to see you – safe journey home
or is that all, is that all you take away?

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 When you could walk all around the ground
the second half was a chore or a laugh.
Back when you chose closeness or distance

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 you could walk away from the droning on and on
of vituperative British Bulldog men
or smug and opining class-bound bores

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 when you could walk all around the ground
and change your viewpoint
though you couldn’t change the score.

Notes

Back to the time when you could walk around the pitch (of course at some grounds you still can)…

Source: https://footballpoets.org/poems/the-halfway-line-on-the-other-side/