Coming Out

Words flowed. I wasn’t aiming for loud
Nor to even stand out in the crowd
But I didn’t expect to be cowed
Into fearful regret, my head bowed
Trying to place my true self back in chains
When all I wanted was to be proud

Do I regret coming out as bi?
My wife left me for another guy
My kids told me they wished that I’d die
Gay friends told me to cease such a lie
In need of work, and a new place to live
Erased, gone, in the blink of an eye