Aarushi Prasad, The Cursed Blessing

The Cursed Blessing

Aarushi Prasad

god blessed a womb but also did not it conceived a boy and a girl draped in magnificent muslin his cries made anklets chime impetuously draped in moth-eaten cotton her body writhing in malnourished neglect

god blessed a womb but also did not it conceived a boy and a girl he flourished eating chicken breasts she drank the leftover broth with unwavering zest

god blessed a womb but also did not it conceived a boy and a girl he lived the American dream she sojourned a connubial nightmare

god blessed a womb but also did not it conceived a girl and a boy he mutilated his loved ones’ flesh for estate she decorated their wounds with freshly ground turmeric