[Verse 1]
Late morning, Conference Room B,
marker cap set down beside the tray.
I draw the old route, box by box,
where ready facts would wait all day.
A crossed-out approval box
still sits on the workflow sheet.
Ben says, “The red-folder step
came from that nine o’clock wire.”

[Verse 2]
I write CORE FACTS FIRST in block print,
then underline what stays out.
Publish what the record supports,
hold context till it checks out.
Three thresholds under the title:
source, time, and second read.
No framing line, no wide conclusion,
only what the file can prove.

[Chorus]
Core facts first,
when the record clears the bar.
Core facts first,
say exactly where we are.
No shortcut, no guess, no unsupported move,
just the verified part released.
Core facts first,
then context follows piece by piece.

[Verse 3]
Nina takes the blue marker,
circling “verified” twice.
She says, “Core has to mean confirmed,
not convenient, not merely brief.”
“Who owns the source line?
Who stops it if second read fails?”
Leo draws the timing column,
Ben checks the older steps.

[Chorus]
Core facts first,
when the record clears the bar.
Core facts first,
say exactly where we are.
No shortcut, no guess, no unsupported move,
just the verified part released.
Core facts first,
then context follows piece by piece.

[Bridge]
So I narrow the trial window,
one desk, one category.
Every first line names its source,
every later note adds history.
Nina holds the threshold list,
Ben keeps the red folder near.
Leo watches time against risk;
I put the limits here.

[Instrumental Break]

[Final Chorus]
Core facts first,
when the record clears the bar.
Core facts first,
say exactly where we are.
Low voices answer once behind me:
core facts first.
Verified before the headline,
context after, not reversed.

[Outro]
In Conference Room B, the board stays up.
No mandate, just a measured start.
Three thresholds, one desk, one trial approved,
each signer initials the chart.

[End]