“abandon this community you’ve built for one.” This is what’s at the heart of Kooser’s poem. The objects giving us the report of what took place in this abandoned house are speaking the language of ubuntu, each of them saying, “I am because we are.” And it’s the essence of Paul’s words of wisdom and counsel to the Romans: “Remember, I am because we are. Pretending just won’t do. Like the Son is to the Father is to the Holy Spirit,”