2001-2003
by Aniket Sanyal

I started lighting fires with my mind around age 7
I was way younger than I am now

the Scott Summers Logan beef loomed large for us kids
I preferred X-Men Evolution back in summer 2001


most of what pyrotechnical acumen I possessed
actualized through rigorous telekinesis practice

what catch-up I could I learned via inference
the Cyclops Jean Grey dynamic off X-2 sure helped

the less extruded of summer 2003 the better

once Bill Stryker forced reluctant ex-Canadian
ex-spec-ops Wolverine toward redeployment

Kitty Pride's take on Shadowcat proved more compelling
lies detected: Rogue was the only reason anyone stuck around

in short: Storm, Kuwabara or Himura Kenshin stole the show
then as now still I’ll wonder where the hell my time went


Aniket Sanyal was born in Kolkata, India and raised in the suburbs of central New Jersey.
His work can be read at BRUISER, APOCALYPSE CONFIDENTAL, DON’T SUBMIT! and elsewhere online.
Chat him up on Twitter @AniketSanyal6 and Instagram @arjun__chai.