01
1. Opening Assumption
Green was declared
and the field complied,
not because it agreed,
because it had no mouth
to argue with.
02
We will treat this compliance
as permission
for now.
03
2. Authority
A ledger speaks best
when no one can see its tongue.
04
It counters.
It ornaments.
It calls the leaning a boundary
and the boundary a fact.
05
If a creature lowers its head,
we record consent.
06
3. Method of Sorting
Begin with what can be grazed.
07
Leaf.
Stem.
Milk that pretends it grew
on purpose.
08
Avoid asking
what the thing wanted to be
before the name arrived.
09
The pasture has no column
for before.
10
4. Handling Guidelines
Do not touch the specimen
longer than required.
11
If you must handle,
handle as if you are only arranging,
not changing.
12
Note:
arranging is a kind of eating
done with the eyes.
13
5. Figured Bass
Thought passes through us
like a bass line
you don’t notice
until it stops.
14
No author crowned.
No object spared.
15
The rules are simple:
keep the rhythm,
keep the hunger quiet,
make it sound like order.
16
6. Exceptions
Some categories chew back.
17
A name applied too firmly
will bruise the edge
and then insist
the bruise was always there.
18
If the pasture begins to look at you,
close the book gently.
Pretend it’s just wind.
19
7. Ornament Clause
Classification may be used
as decoration
in times of loneliness.
20
A label feels like a held hand.
A list can feel like a body
staying.
21
This is a known side effect.
Do not report it
unless it becomes law.
22
8. Continuation
Proceed until meaning eats
through the paper.
23
Further handling,
heat,
or the presence of another mouth
may require amendments.
24
For now,
write carefully.
25
The field is still listening
in its way.