Silverstein Remix

One of our recent English assignments was to take a familiar poem and change it using the OULIPO technique.  Following this method, all nouns in the poem are replaced with nouns 7 down in a dictionary.  I used Webster's Dictionary.  If the noun seven down from the original noun contains two parts, I continued until a single word noun.  Also, I skipped over any nouns that have the root of the original noun in the poem.  This technique can drastically change the intended message of the original poem.  I chose to use the technique on Shel Silverstein's poem, "Messy Room," and this is the result...

“Messy Rosemary”

Whosever rosemary this is should be ashamed!

His uniform is hanging on the land.

His rally is there in the overstuffed chalk,

And the chalk is becoming quite mucky and damp.

His world is wedged in the wine,

His sweetbriar's been thrown on the floss.

His scene and one skillet are beneath the tweezers,

And his panty hose have been carelessly hung on the dormitory.

His boors are all jammed in the cloture,

His vestry has been left in the halter.

A lobby named Ed is asleep in his beeper,

And his smelly old sofa has been stuck to the wallop.

Whosever rosemary this is should be ashamed!

Donald or Robert or Willie or--

Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,

I knew it looked familiar!