Curl up. Curl in. Get little and listen.
Back like a shell, a cave, a birdhouse.
Go inside. Go back. A back like a den,
your back to the wind.
Call yourself back, back into the walnut shell,
turtle, or clam: retreat. Pause from harm’s way.
Soft on the inside, space enough for breath,
tight enough to compress – for the hug of it.
Self hug self.
Curl under your back, under a rock, inside the rock.
Thrive in there.