Hazelnuts are helpful
when you must protect yourself
from lies
for they are wrapped 
in truth themselves

Come to the back of the shop
past the aisle of bottled heartbreak,
and decks of painted catastrophe
Our hazel seedlings will grow
at least two feet per week

No, the grove’s secret is not
for you
at any cost

Bring the seedling home
water thrice per day, each
time repeat the truths you know
must stay safely heart-bound

Learn to keep a hazel twig
up your sleeve
in a pocket
twisted in your hair

You’ll also need some recipes

The person whose lies you fear
will arrive with 
self-serving stories
and demands on your 
time, heart, reality

You know they consider hospitality 
the least they are owed for 
unexpected visits 
and the sharing of untruths

Prepare with hazelnuts
leeched into liqueur
pulverized into praline
fragmented into flour

Hazelnuts will not stop the lies
— if only arbor-craft could be so canny! —
but they will ensure
you only hear
without being deceived

[Devan Barlow is the author of the Curses & Curtains series of fairy tales-meet-musicals fantasy novels, and the collection Foolish Hopes and Spilled Entrails: Retellings. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in several anthologies and magazines. She reads voraciously, and can often be found hanging out with her dog, drinking tea, and thinking about sea monsters. Find her at devanbarlow.com or on Bluesky @devanbarlow.bsky.social.]