The past is held in the un-cut clearing
all the way to the other side of the cricket ground
and past the greenhouse
which you reckoned must have had a few balls
smashing through it over the years
and the nearby college,

drawing a line between the future
and what lies beyond the other side of the gate
leaving nothing but shadows
and rattling doors
of the boarded up club house
retracing footsteps to previous generations.

Clive Lloyd played here in 1975 once
he shouted out in the near distance to you
for a charity match
with a team of now forgotten other stars
casually stroking a six out of the ground
before being bowled out the following ball

causing him to drop a Guinness he chuckled
when Lloyd walked off with a huge smile
and sat at the corner of the bar afterwards
once the match was finished
with the dusk whispering in the shadows
after he had autographed literally everything,

immortalising the most minor of memories
staggering home to a clip around the earholes drunk
at three in the morning off his long passed away mum
when the world was brought to its knees decades later
pulling unexpected moments like shields in his memories
almost like it was the only thing that could protect him now.

(Clive Lloyd was the west indies cricket captain
between 1974 and 1986 and played for Lancashire Cricket Club between
1968 to 1986 and in 1975 played at a charity cricket match at 
Denton St Lawrence's Cricket Club)