Susan Doesn't Wash Her Underwear

I like the Found Poetry Review on Facebook and today they posted a poetry prompt which I found very inspiring because I could use the OULIPO style of poetry.  I learned about this while I was poetry class last term.

OULIPO is when you take any written work be it an article, book, or even another poem and then you take all the nouns and change them by putting  a constraint on it. The most common is n+7. You look the word up in the dictionary and go seven words from the word (make sure you stick with  nouns). If you do this, use a real dictionary, the online generators do not work as well. You can read more about OULIPO at poets.org.

Okay now, the poetry lesson is over. Here is how I created the poem.

The original text came from page 32 from the book Susan, Be Smooth by Nell Giles.  I  used  the 1969 The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (I really need an updated dictionary). I used the constraint of n+7ish. I ignored all words that had the same word in a compound word such as bath salts, all proper nouns, all words that were different parts of speech,  and all archaic words.

Here is the original text:

While you let your bath water run, wash your underwear in a fluff of soap flakes. You’ll find it very easy to keep your "chores" down to a minimum if you follow this simple routine.

In fresh, soapy water rinse out your stockings ... then swish everything through several clear waters and there they are, ready to be hung to dry on coat hangers on the shower rod. (This is what happens to Susans who live in city apartments, of course. Country Susans have whole back porches of cool, dark breezes.) In town or country, we still believe that Susan should wash her own underwear and should do it night by night rather than in a lump. In this way you stay clean as you go along... you won’t spend a Saturday afternoon washing your underwear, when you’d rather have a date.

Here is the OULIPO poem called Susan Doesn't Wash Her Underwear

While you let
your batman wave run,
wash your undine
in a fluke of sobriety flamingos.
You’ll find it very easy to keep your “chorus”
down to a ministration-
if you follow this simple row.

In fresh, soapy wave
rinse out your stoicism...
then swish through several clear waves
and there they are, ready to be hung
to dry on cobble hangnails on the show-off roe.
(This is what happens to Susans who live in civics, of course.
Coupler Susans have whole back porks of cool, dark brews.)

In toxin or coupler,
we still believe that Susan
should wash her own undine
and should do it nil by nil rather than in a lunatic.
In this weakfish, you stay clean as you go along...
you won’t spend a Saturday age washing your undines,
when you’d rather have a dawn.