Saturday 16 June 2018

'A Couple 3' by Andre Lepine

Why can't you speak plainly? You told me you wanted to talk, with talk all caps in quotation marks like our relationship's in trouble. But now you start with a premise:

We think of the world as a series of 2s, when we really should see 3s. Believing 2 sides to every story forgets viewpoint 3, the (sometimes) objective narrator. Saying it takes 2 to tango neglects musician 3 providing a rhythm.

This feels like a lecture. Again you sit on our couch and speak around me, declaring your deep understanding of the world. What is there for me to say?

I could tell you that a number is divisible by 3 if the sum of its digits is divisible by 3. Take 24 (my age): 24 divided by 3 equals 8, while 2 plus 4 equals 6 divided by 3 equals 2. Or maybe you prefer 18 (months we've been together): 18 divided by 3 equals 6, while 1 plus 8 equals 9 divided by 3 equals 3 (there's your damn 3).

No, instead of math and science you speak about wordplay, though universal mechanics force us to perceive 3 dimensions. You expound about differing perspectives, yet fail to note just how many world religions share a reverence for 3 among their doctrines. And you make me listen to you analyze our relationship without once mentioning the 1 you're leaving me for, the 1 who makes this a 3.I just wanted to be part of a 2.

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