100,000,000,000,000 poems

When one with t'other straightaway agrees
His exaltation shocked both youth and crone
Old corned-beef's rusty armour spreads disease
The thumb- and finger-prints of Al Capone
To one sweet hour of bliss my memory clings
Nought can the mouse's timid nibbling stave
An icicle of frozen marrow pings
Thou homestead hillside woodland rock and cave
When dried the terrapin can naught express
One tongue will do to keep the verse agog
Watching manure and compost coalesce
We'll suffocate before the epilogue
The Taj Mahal has trinkets spice and gum
And lessors' dates have all too short a sum


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.