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From playboy Chance the nymph no longer flees
His exaltation shocked both youth and crone
Replies like this the dumbstruck brain may tease
One gathers rosebuds or grows old alone
The roundabout eats profits made on swings
With sombre thoughts they grimly line the nave
Th'outrageous Thames a troubled arrow slings
In purest cradels tha's how they behave
The genealogist with field and fess
Shallots and sharks'fins face the smould'ring log
The country lane just thrives on farmyard mess
Whiskey will always wake an Irish bog
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.