Tie the laces on your least-uncertain boots
check yourself for loose threads to snag splinters
loose thoughts to snag attention 
of things with teeth
for you know their maws ring with the resonance
of self-doubt, susceptibility

The wind is wild today,
take your time-softened mittens
and the scarf hung by the door
It may scratch, but it will absorb your
scent, serve as distraction should you need 
If wool’s rasping riles up too much recollection
of the hands who made the stitches
you should leave it on the riverbank
so it may join the drowned 
and those who do the drowning

Finally
find the fern you’re famished for 
feel its furls
don’t fear any fondness 
however unaccustomed
it causes to flourish in you
Cunning croziers are acumen-crammed 
and it’s polypodies’
preferred peculiarity
to push you toward a path 
where you can prosper

[Devan Barlow is the author of the Curses & Curtains series of fairy tales-meet-musicals fantasy novels, as well as two collections of 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.]