100,000,000,000,000 poems

At five precisely out went La Marquise
The bull's horns ought to dry it like a bone
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
That metred rhyme alone can souls enslave
In salads all chew grubs before they've wings
To break a rule Britannia's might might waive
The genealogist with field and fess
A bird-brain banquet melts bold Mistress Mog
The country lane just thrives on farmyard mess
But I can understand you Brogher Gog
Do bank clerks rule their abacus by thumb
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.