in 2019 / the institute was / a kitchen table / covered in drafts / the official seal / a coffee ring / bylaws / whatever could be remembered / the next morning /
in 2020 / it became portable / operating out of / borrowed bedrooms / and the theory / that isolation / is a form / of field research /
by 2021 / defined as “a network / of provisional truths” / which sounded / more legitimate / when printed / on letterhead /
in 2022 / rewritten entirely / in metaphor / later translated / into actionable items / for the annual report /
by 2023 / declared / both “post-disciplinary” / and “preposterous” / in the same review /
in 2024 / no definition / at all / triggering / a brief existential crisis / in the accounting department /
this year / the definition / remains under embargo / pending a decision / to keep it / or admit / it was never / about definition / in the first place /
daniela cuevas theoretical institute llc 