Artwork © Eric N. Peterson

 

Dear Mother

Dear Mother,
I have a lover.
I know you will not approve,
So I will just wait a few months until I tell you.
Maybe then, you will be okay with it?

Dear Mother,
I love my Lover,
I tell him every day,
Just how you taught me to do.
That does not change because he is a boy, does it?

Dear Mother,
I know you do not want to say it out loud,
I know your friends do not know about it,
I know you are not comfortable saying it,
But will you perhaps one day accept it?

Dear Mother,
I am still happy with my lover,
I still tell him I love him every day,
And he loves me just as much.
Maybe now you understand.
Do you?

Dear Mother,
I know I could’ve had it worse,
You could’ve said things like,
You’ve chosen a very difficult life,
You’ll be very lonely,
You’ll have no friends,
Your health is at risk,
But you not saying anything,
Is almost worse than you saying something,
Because now I imagine the things you think,
And the demons in my head are worse than the ones you could ever force onto me.

Dear Mother,
I broke up with that boy,
But I am still the way I am.
Perhaps, you will let me see you now?
Will you ever let me come home?

Dear Mother,
I know I am still a disappointment,
But please give me back the key to my house,
I need my mother,
Please just let me,
Come home,
For the first time in,
Two years.
Dear Mother,
Please just be a mum,
For once,
In these last two years.

 

Nele Erhart: This piece is about coming out to parents and parental rejection a boy receives after his outing. Many parents have despite the fact that the world becomes more and more open about their sexualities difficulties about accepting their child’s outing.

Eric N. Peterson is from Atlanta, Ga. He’s been drawing cartoons all his life. He leans towards the absurd, imaginative, and the surreal, as that’s where all the flavor is.