An unusual superpower, by Vaishnavi Pusapati

Mom can never
be surprised.
She is immune.
She is always prepared.
She always knows
when anyone gifts her anything.

“That is a dry fruit box inside.
That is a sweet box.”
“That is a sari. That is
a diary for the New Year.”

“That is a book. This is a clock.
This will be a cup.”
We unwrap the glossy paper
and she is right, always.

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Vaishnavi Pusapati is a physician and poet previously published in eighty journals of literature from around the world.