Potting balls of hope

Christian Donovan

In my heart’s backroom bar,
a bagatelle volleys pearls
of hope against experience.  
A masterclass of perpetual motion.
Small, shiny baubles catapult-rattle
optimism at brass-pin horseshoes
across need’s polished board.
They batter fortune’s teeth, clatter
in and out of luck, shatter self-confidence.
Haphazard as grapeshot, they seek
holes to sink into.  Holes amass points
for effort, if not prizes for success.
Once all balls have sunk, it’s time
to put another coin on the table.

Potting balls of hope was featured in the Gallery, Oriel y Parc’s exhibit “Resistance is Fertile” which served to protest against political, social, and environmental injustices in the modern world. More information about the exhibit can be found at the following link: https://www.pembrokeshirecoast.wales/oriel-y-parc/exhibitions/narberth-poets/

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Christian Donovan
Christian Donovan retired about two years ago from work as a guide at Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire, Wales and now has more time to write. Previously she was a dairy farmer’s wife, a Welsh language tutor and cycling fanatic. She has had poems published in anthologies by Yaffle Press, Bournemouth Writing and, online, in the Ekphrastic Review and Ink, Sweat & Tears.