By Geoffrey Brown
We both were there. We were both there. I was who I was there. When I was there I was who I was. We both were who we was there. We both were there. We both were who we were there. Who we were was who we were when we were there. When we were there we were not who we were when we were not there. Neither of us were. We were neither of us not. Not there. We were both. We were both not. Both of us were not. If you know what I mean. I don’t mean what you think. I don’t mean what you think I mean. Do you know what I think? I think what I mean. I mean what I say. I mean what I say I mean. What I say is what I mean. What I said is what I meant. What I meant to say. What I said I meant. I said what I meant. I meant what I said. When we were where I said we were. When we were where we both could be. Where we were was where we were. We were where we were. When we were there. When we were where we were when we were there we were who we were. We both were who we were when we were there. We both were what we were when we were there. We were both what we were. We were both what we were not. Do you know what I mean? You know what I mean. You never know what I mean. Do you ever know what I mean? What do I mean? Why was she mean? She was once mean. Where is she now? Is she anywhere now? She could be anywhere now. She could be nowhere now. Anywhere she is she could be. She could be anywhere where she is not. She is not where she once was. She once was where she is not. Where she once was we both were once. We both were not us. We were both. We were mean. Both of us were. Both of us were mean. Both of us were us. We were both us. Of both we were us. Both of us us. Both of us mean. Did I mean to be mean? I meant to be me. I meant me to be. I didn’t mean me. I wasn’t mean me. Mean wasn’t me. I’m saying too much. I mean it’s too much. I mean it too much. I’m meaning too much. Too much do I mean. Too much am I mean. Too much mean me. She doesn’t mean much. What much does she mean? Was she mean much? Mean much to me? She was much mean. Meant much to me. Don’t bother me now. Why bother me now? What bother is now? Now is not now. Now it is now. Now it is what. Not now is it now. Not now is it not. Now is what now? What is now now? Once more it is now. No bother it now. No bother to now. No bother once more. Once more is no bother. No bother is now. Do I bother to now? Never mind now. Now mind my brother. Go bother my brother. My brother will tell you. My brother will talk. Talk with my brother. My brother my bother. My brother’s no bother. My brother’s another. My brother the other. My brother another. My brother my other. Too many others. Remember the others? All those anothers? Another one other. One other other. I know another. I have another. I have a brother. I’m one with my brother. My only brother. My lonely brother. One lonely brother. One brother alone. A lone lonely brother. A lonely one only. One lonely, alone. Enough with all that. What’s up with all that? What’s up with all this? What is it, all this? Is that all this is? Is this all that is? This is all that. This is all that is. All that this is. All this is is that. That is all this is. What about that? What about this? What about us?
Geoffrey Brown is the author of the novel Self-Titled (Coach House). He lives in Ottawa, Ontario.