Rule of Threes
by Sandra Lloyd
I tend to read books three at a time surrounded
by a trio of dogs as agreeable to me
as a ternion of adjectives before a noun.
Aristotle believed in three unities for plays
all set in one place, no longer than a day,
without subplots, or flashbacks.
I need this sort of frame.
Curios offer more pleasure
in triads. Three repetitions renders things true.
We progress from incident, to coincident,
to pattern. I arrange a cord of wood between a triangle
of stalwart evergreens and consider the men I've loved,
believe the third offers something of a knotty twist.
Like a triptych, I could display this fact openly
or fold it shut.
Sandra Lloyd is a poet and registered nurse with a BSc in Psychology and an MA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Toronto. Her poetry and prose have appeared in publications including The Antigonish Review, Prism International, The Rotary Dial, The Puritan, and Evenings on Paisley Avenue: Seven Hamilton Poets. She lives in Ancaster, Ontario.