100,000,000,000,000 poems

When one with t'other straightaway agrees
His exaltation shocked both youth and crone
The understanding critic firstly sees
And empty cages show life's bird has flown
To one sweet hour of bliss my memory clings
Signalling gauchos very rarely shave
Such merchandise a melancholy brings
Etruscan words which Greece and Rome engrave
When dried the terrapin can naught express
And starve the sniveling baby like a dog
And played their mountain croquet jungle chess
But I can understand you Brogher Gog
Do bank clerks rule their abacus by thumb
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.