Necessary Premises

Find two or three statements,

either true or false, to prop up the claim,

also true or false. Sort. Two boxes: True

or False. Yes or No. Keep or Throw.

Open the closet crammed

with grandfather’s pants unworn

these ten years. Bring out

the attic’s ruined instruments,

moldy books. Drag

soggy cardboard up the stairs.

Let the figurines clatter on the couch,

clutching each other. Keep only a few.

Or better none.

Polish the floors.

Watch squares of sun drift

across the dining room all morning.

Base everything on them.