"The Oldest Bedtime Story" by Nathaniel Cairney

The Oldest Bedtime Story

My sons are obsessed with the fact
that policemen exist,
and I get it —

they're wired to find lines
and cross them,
and the thought

of being locked up for being
who you're born to be
is terrifying —

so each night I gather them near
to listen as every witch,
ogre, dragon, and tiger
whispers —

this is what an edge looks like,
this is a shadow —
stay far from the one,
keep close to the other —

Nathaniel Cairney

Nathaniel Cairney is an American poet and novelist who lives in Belgium. His chapbook, Singing Dangerously of Sinking, was a finalist for the 2021 Saguaro Prize in Poetry, and his poems have been published in The Cardiff Review, Midwest Review, Broad River Review and others.

Headshot: T. Cairney

Photo Credit: Staff