the gabriel club

the mold continues to grow under my skin.
it is black in colour, i think, though i cannot be certain.

i slit my wrist once and peeled back the skin but all i could find was fire.

i look at my eyes in the mirror. there's mold behind them as well.
the mold's entered my eyes as well.

it's just like passion.

it's just like when a man looks at a woman - a mere glance, no more than that - and realizes that his flesh is on fire ..

it's just like when a man looks at a woman.

you will never be a man, she said.

--- excerpt from "The Gabriel Club" by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya