An Altered Surrealist Exercise

From “A BOOK OF SURREALIST GAMES” by “ALASTAIR BROTCHIE
EDITED BY MEL GOODING”

Victory is progress and is unique, and worth sharing the table, because radiance is turbulence
Defeat means there is always potential in the river for what you have in the inevitability of decline.

Freedom is knowing that existence holds something good in the fragility of abundance
Captivity is seeing through the window that the outlook is possible, even when it feels slow to emerge.

With hope you are confined to imagination within narrow walls in a house where solitude is momentum.
Despair limits trees that are capable of growth because luminescence is whimsy.

Concepts of a book carries chaos beyond what you currently imagine.
Order every day offers repetition rather than renewal because resonance is a labyrinth

Each sunrise brings delay to the epiphany that is a tempest of emptiness without merit.
Minor advances with the door leave a new opportunity for order to begin again with the car.

Light is distance unchanged but the chair has value and deserves expression in the street.
Your ideas have resolve while obscuring insight that serenity is a haze of darkness.

Obstacles weaken the ability to learn, adapt, and improve the phone.
Small steps forward on the bridge with a lantern, remains stagnant; development stalls.

Peace challenges silence as reverence, and can spread harm across communities in the meadow.
Conflict in kindness and appears ordinary, lacking distinction, because the veil is zenith.

In the cabin of kindness, your perspective seems unattainable amid delay.
Cruelty still moves you closer to your goals like a compass to a falcon.

Advancement weakens clarity because the threshold is the horizon.
Delay strengthens your resilience to the phone book.

Above is my own variation on the Opposites exercise the process is listed below.

  1. Write a positive statement.
  2. Write the opposite without repeating any of the words.
  3. Write two descriptive nouns, and two common nouns.
  4. Swap the negative and positive subjects, add the nouns.
  5. Add words to make these a complete sentence.

The original exercise.

OPPOSITES
For a minimum number of three players.
The first player writes a sentence, a question or a statement, at the
head of a sheet of paper, and passes it to the next player. This player
writes the absolute opposite of this sentence, phrase by phrase,
according to any idea of ‘opposite’. He then folds the sheet to cover
only the first sentence. This has the effect of transforming the negation into an affirmation, which the third player must, in turn, negate.
Before passing on the sheet, this player also folds it, but only so as to
cover the previous sentence.

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About the Author: Sarah B. Royal

Sarah B. Royal’s writing defies convention. Her poetry and prose traverse the boundaries between structure and spontaneity, often weaving together philosophical inquiry, cultural reflection, and personal narrative. With a background in experimental literature, she is known for crafting works that challenge readers to engage intellectually and emotionally.

Her acclaimed palindrome performance play, 777 – A Story of Idol Worship and Murder, showcases her fascination with mirrored storytelling and thematic symmetry. In o x ∞ = ♥: The Poet and The Mathematician, Royal explores the intersection of poetic intuition and mathematical logic, revealing a unique voice that is both analytical and lyrical.

Royal’s collections—such as Lost in the Lost and Found, Haiku For You, Lantern and Tanka Too, and the WoPoLi Chapbook Series—highlight her commitment to neurodivergent expression and poetic experimentation. Whether through childhood verse or contemporary fusion poetry, her work invites readers into a world where language is both a tool and a playground.

Sarah B. Royal continues to expand the possibilities of poetic form, offering readers a deeply personal yet universally resonant experience. Her writing is a testament to the power of creative risk, intellectual depth, and emotional authenticity.

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