100,000,000,000,000 poems

From playboy Chance the nymph no longer flees
When masons clutch the breath we held on loan
Old corned-beef's rusty armour spreads disease
And empty cages show life's bird has flown
And yet 'twas he the beggar Fate just flings
Nought can the mouse's timid nibbling stave
An icicle of frozen marrow pings
Till firemen come with hose-piped tidal wave
Staunch pilgrims longest journeys can't depress
And starve the sniveling baby like a dog
On wheels the tourist follows hos hostess
No need to cart such treasures from the fog
Poor reader smile before your lips go numb
Fried grilled black pudding's still the world's best yum


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.