The only way out is not through (bone).

When in doubt, don’t just meat or martyr.

Before cutting off your hand to spite your captor, see if you can tip the jar. 

Sometimes, shoot it; when you do, aim for the gears.

If there aren’t any scissors, start a fire. If there’s room in the well, sardine.

Not every number is an incision, and not every rule is a law.

The people who call you imprisoned are begging dilemma, so recognize

when dismantling traps requires you to think like a needle

and when you’d be better off thread.
Think outside the bear trap: Cinderella would smash her glass slipper

and birdsong a key from the shards; James Bond martini a fast car

from razor wire and the last olive. Joan of Arc would put on the wrong clothes,

take her own advice, call it God; there’s an exit for you. I promise.
Elisa Chavez is our Poet in Residence for January. Previously this month: The hugely popular "Revenge", and "Ways of Devouring a Man".