100,000,000,000,000 poems

When one with t'other straightaway agrees
His nasal ecstasy beats best Cologne
Upon his old oak chest he cuts his cheese
And empty cages show life's bird has flown
The frisian Isles my friends are cherised things
The North Wind Bites into his architrave
In salads all chew grubs before they've wings
Etruscan words which Greece and Rome engrave
Staunch pilgrims longest journeys can't depress
With quill white-collared through his life will jog
The country lane just thrives on farmyard mess
We'll suffocate before the epilogue
Do bank clerks rule their abacus by thumb
A wise loaf always knows its humblest crumb


Raymond Queneau

Translation to English by Stanley Chapman
found in "Oulipo Compendium"
Atlas 1998, ISBN 0-947757-96-1

Idea and implementation by Magnus Bodin 1997
Produced in the wonderful country of Sweden.