The cafetier’s lot in life is not happy, 
he and his wife are quick to tell; 
up early, to bed late, 
on their feet most of the day. 

The matter that bothers him most, 
no privacy at mealtime 
and dreary conversation 
from patrons. 

In order to make ends meet, 
they must organize special activities. 
Outside, 

Boules 
is painted on a weathered shingle, 
nailed above the front door. 

Boules Tournament 
Every Saturday Night 
Nine O’clock 

but very few men arrive that early. 

Lights strung across the place are lit 
for nighttime play. 
Scorers amuse themselves 
until two or three in the morning. 

There is another tournament 
Sunday afternoon; teams are picked 
from slips of paper with names 
drawn from a beret, then 
the fond clicking of boules together; 
balls made of wood 
			     studded with tacks. 

The rules of the game formulated by 
La Fédération Française Bouliste du 
Jeu Provençal et Petanque, 

every possible contingency foreseen 
on a hard and smooth terrain, 
no lines restricting play. 

The game goes on until one wins 
fifteen points 
(my god for a perfect billiard shot). 
Players study the situation 
of the lay of the balls. 

Squatting, feet together, 
arms outstretched 
in his cap and tweed vest, 
Raoul Pascal has been losing steadily 
all evening 
when he becomes insulted 
by so much joking, 
he raises the stakes: 
from one drink to two, 
to two packs of cigarettes. 

Stephen Barile,

a Fresno, California native, was educated in the public schools and attended Fresno City College, Fresno Pacific University, and California State University, Fresno. He taught writing at Madera Community College and at CSU Fresno, and was a long-time member of the Fresno Poet’s Association.

Mr. Barile’s poems have been published in numerous venues, including As It Ought To Be Magazine, Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, Kathmandu Tribune, North Dakota Quarterly, OJAL (Open: Journal of Arts and Letters), OVUNQUE SIAMO, Pharos, Rio Grande Review, Rue Scribe, Santa Clara Review, The Broad River Review, The Heartland Review, The San Joaquin Review, Tiny Seed Literary Journal, and Tower Poetry.

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Rainmaker, a poem by Stephen Barile in Mason Street Review (8 March 2022)

⚡ Tall Trees Mobile Home Park, a poem by Barile at Featured Poets: osamasetorbest.com (24 February 2021)