RULES OF THE GAME OF THE YELLOW DWARF

today I went to St-Paul Street
to find the bookstore I was told about
where they sell books in English
and on the way, in an antique store, I saw
the framed « Règles du Jeu du Nain Jaune »
or Rules of the Game of the Yellow Dwarf
with its own genuine deck of cards
and the complete set was 200 euros
which is exactly the amount of money I lost
to an Italian thief, the last time I was in Paris
so I just went my way
until I found that bookstore which I was looking for
and, there I asked for their poetry section
and, as often, it was located near the cash register
and, on the shelf, there was only one Bukowski
and, on the back of the book, it was written $13.95

I asked the lady about the price in euros,
and she told me it was 13.95 in euros
and I thought, “Ok,”
then I picked up another book, poems by Li Po
and that one too, it was $13.95

I offered 20 euros for the two books
but the lady,
she said that Li Po book’s price was in pounds (9.99)
which was the equivalent of about 18 euros
and this time I thought, “No.”

now the lady wouldn’t give me a deal,
because, she said,
she herself still owed $300.000 for the bookstore,
and last week, one of her checks bounced back,
and so on, and so on...

I told her: “I can put back these books on the shelf
and you’ll sell them another day,
or you take my 20 euros for them both.”

so she said: “No.”

I just took the Bukowski for 13.95 euros,
and then I left.

a bit later I found a place to read,
opened the book at random,
and there it was, a poem of Bukowski, which I didn’t know, entitled:
Was Li Po wrong?

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Lion with Breasts by reading_is_dangerous] (today)