Lately, I've been reading gay fiction in addition to m/m romances. The differences are intriguing. I'm devouring "Best of Gay Asian Erotica". Let me share a beautiful paragraph from Andy Quan's "Positive":
I celebrate masculinity. I saw a photo of your younger self and the face was round, like a boy's: the shapes of sun and moon and celestial bodies. Soft forms. Now the drugs have made your face gaunt, your cheekbones have risen like mornings, and your cheeks have strong lines carved into them. I say this to you: you look like a man. Your profile is an exaggerated model, a cartoon superhero, sleek and virile. And strong like seaside cliffs that weather wind and salt night and day and all of the middle hours. A few of my body parts fit perfectly into those crevices.
Hmm. That's quite a paragraph! I don't know that I would find a drug-emaciated form erotic, but these images are powerful. On second thought, perhaps the writer doesn't mean chemo drugs but something recreational. Strange, my mind went right to illness.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a thought-provoking image!
It actually is illness related. Good call! And I agree with your opinion. I think the man is desperately celebrating his loved one's life while he can.
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