• The engine starts and so does my imprisonment.
    Out of the driveway and onto to the road,
    I sit alone in back, parents in front.
    Silence. This is my only shelter in here.
    With no words to say, I begin to nod off.

    So how's the "situation"? Yes, that's what they call it.
    No longer can I escape, but I remain quiet.
    As both mother and father chastise my life,
    I fall into the solitary abyss of my mind,
    but still I feel their hateful remarks.

    Why don't they love me? The only words I can hear.
    I die inside trying to find this answer,
    and the guilt my mother has sown strangles me
    until tears of suffocation are my only release,
    and pain is the only friend I have.

    Your silence tells us all. That's how they drag me out.
    All I can do is stare at their stone faces.
    I just want to get to my destination.
    We stop. Finally. Only my father leaves.
    You know you're killing him. He cries every night.

    Yes, I am killing them, the ones that I love.
    She stares me down. I know what she wants.
    All I have to say is one simple thing
    to get them be mom and dad once again.
    I need them back. I want them to love.

    I'm not gay anymore! I lie.