What is an Exquisite Corpse you may ask? Well, here’s an explanation. This is a parlor game developed by French Surrealists that involves writing poetry or art. One person writes a line or stanza of a poem and then passes it to another person. This person writes another verse or stanza, but this time, he or she folds the paper so that the next person can only see the verse or stanza that he or she wrote. This cycle continues, with only one line or stanza presented to the writer with each turn. The game usually ends when the poem reaches the bottom of a page or when somebody declares that the poem is finished.

My good friend and protege Doug and myself will be compiling a collection of corpses that will be used in a chapbook. The date on which this occurs remains to be seen. Anyhow, here is an example of an Exquisite Corpse:

I pride myself in building homes
With bricks and no mortar
My spirit cements these building blocks in place
Buildings which house our inner children
cradled by love
They flourish in a circle of unflinching trust
Carolling a mosaic of colorful melodies
Love is like a box of chocolate, you never know what to expect
Peace is the creamy center
Rich with caramel kisses
Embraced with cocoa caressing
And showered in the dewdrops of honey
From the eyes of angels
A sainty figure watches from above, high up in the heavenly cosmos
People love people who love people
Absorb the sands of love between your toes
Let them radiate upward
They do not scar but heal like the Earth Mother’s medicine
Let her sunlight fill the voids within yourself
You are whole and unharmed
You are a perfect child of the universe
Time stops for no man, how quickly the sands of times passes as the children ripen
In the jungle-gym they frollock, with not a care in the world
Everyone has a special talent it just takes something to bring it out
And soon we will shine like the stars we truly are
And the carbon and stardust shall shine their spirits upon us
Striving for the ether