In Threes

In Threes
I felt this superstition early on, finding comfort in the pattern of threes. As a child incapable of analytical thinking, patterns were an easy memory game. There are triples in children’s stories (three bears), in comedy (three bears walk into a bar), and in every basic plotline (the set-up, the climax, the resolution). I was wired for resolution, and it was promised by every suit of three. A bowl of porridge, a chair, a bed, oh my! Bad luck comes in threes. It makes for a gripping story. How do I tell a story without three? Lists begin with three. Scribbling only two items in a row can’t qualify as a list, but once you add the third, you have a hierarchy of needs. The triangle builds itself, and the sum of the angles of that triangle is equal to two right angles. Bad luck comes in threes. I find it reassuring. Each grouping is the promise of an ending. Every count of three is sweet relief. -Julian A M.P.

Julian A M.P. (him/them) is an artist, writer and queer settler who resides in Tkaronto. Julian’s writing and studio practice are situated alongside their memberships in pandemic parenthood and the casual, academic workforce. Recent projects include Four Transitions in Water and Light, 2021 (Artworks for Jellyfish and Other Stories, Boetzkes and Hiebert, eds), I emptied everything, 2022, and I can only fold in, 2023. He is currently co-editing Bodies in Friction: Queer and Trans Stories of Kink and Care (Goblin Cat Zines) and completing a collection of auto-biographical fiction. Julian also performs as one-half of Private Robots with Seb Roberts (Poets Barrio TV, 2020, Squint _ _ _ _ _ _Press). –Julian A M.P. In Threes is a collaboration between Julian A M.P. and Midi Onodera