By: Dr. Archan Mehta 

Poem #1: Ex-Friend

 

We used to be good friends,

But now we no longer meet

And move around in different circles.

You smoke Cuban cigars

And drink the finest liquor:

I am still the gentle scholar,

Who wanted to be a writer.

Our friendship is no longer

What it used to be:

You started to complain about me

Behind my back

Saying how I was

Always busy with work

And had no time for you.

I was too detached to respond

And enjoyed a book and solitude.

I guess that’s it, ex-friend,

That’s all I have to say.

Our friendship was never

Meant to be.

Our past is history

Like an abandoned

Shark in the sea.

 

Poem #2: Moods of Death

 

Death announced its

Arrival this September

Curled up in bed

While you were asleep

And full of dreams

And left words and ideas unspoken

But death did not care for you

For death had other plans:

Death, you strummed a guitar

With your rough manners

You reminded me 

Of a drunken sailor

Who was washed ashore

From the ocean and hit dry land

Only to fight in a bar

With sailor’s hands—

Death, you remind me of

A Gestapo general

Who commands forces of soldiers

And secretly rejoices

When others are hurt

Or in pain.

Death, to you, life is in vain

While you play a funeral call

And scare off the angels,

One by one. Death, you

Play with life, like

An addict plays with

A marijuana cigarette

And takes the last, long drag.

 

Poem #3: Literature

 

I do not know

When I fell

In love with you,

But something moved me,

I don’t know what,

But I felt the light

Touching my shoulder

Like the hand of God

And I felt like a feather

Floating in the wind.

I don’t know why I

Write these lines,

But something, somewhere, out there,

Compels me to write about

The human experience.

You had the beauty of light,

A light that screams at

The darkness and floods

The world with magic and mystery.

Meanwhile, your charm was not

Normal or conventional,

It was an eccentric charm,

But I loved your originality

And valued your uniqueness.

You could do no harm,

You fell from the planets and stars,

Of your own, free will:

Nothing could have prepared

Me to receive you:

It was like the feeling

Of holding a baby

In your arms 

For the first time.

When I read you, finally,

Page by page, I shivered for

I could not breathe: it was

Like I had traveled to heaven

And returned to earth.

I was riding on a magic

Carpet with a lantern in hand,

Happy to be in a promised land.

 

Poem #4: Nostalgia? 

 

Maybe memory does not

Travel that far: but

Long lost friends

And relatives

Emerge out of                                                                   

The cobwebs of time and space.

Do you remember how

We pulled off that

Childish prank on our teacher?

How we danced like crazy

Well past midnight

Drinking beer and eating pizza?

How we cracked jokes

And laughed our troubles away?

Yes, those were the days.

 

Poem #5: Baby Love

 

Please

Don’t cry,

Sweet child,

What can I

Do to make 

You feel happy?

How about an

Ice-cream cone?

Toys to play with?

What is your heart’s desire?

I want to be

A good provider

And take your pain away,

Banish your pain to

The other world,

And make you feel

Joyful again.

How about a teddy bear?

Or a Barbie doll?

Toy soldiers?

A game of hide-and-seek?

Please tell me what

I can do for you:

Maybe take you

To the zoo?

How about the fun

Rides in Disneyland?

How about cotton candy?

Or pizza-by-the-slice?

Do you prefer root beer?

I want to offer gifts

To you so that you

Feel on top of the world,

I want to wipe away

Every tear that falls

From your eyes

And replace those 

Tears with sweet smiles.

 

Bio: Dr. Archan Mehta

Archan Mehta has earned a Ph.D. in Management. Currently, Dr. Mehta is a Consultant and Writer based in India who trains clients in Stress Management through the ancient practice of meditation.

Dr. Mehta’s articles and case studies have been featured in HR Future. HR Future is a leading HR magazine based in South Africa, sourced by prestigious ivy league schools in America (USA) like Harvard and Princeton. 

In 1990, Dr. Mehta won a national award for a short story in Onlooker Magazine based in Bombay (Mumbai), Maharashtra, India. The Judge was the late, great Khushwant Singh, India’s celebrated Journalist, Editor, Author, and Columnist.

Dr. Mehta’s works have appeared in numerous publications:

• American Poetry Anthology
•  Poets United to Advance the Arts
• The Times of India
• The Indian Express
• Mid-Day
• HR Future, Business Manager
• India Today
• Sportsweek
• The Statesman
• Ahmedabad Mirror
• All India Management Association
• People Matters
• Society for Human Resource Management
• Onlooker

Dr. Mehta is a member of several professional organizations, such as Society for Human Resource Management, Indian Society for Training and Development, Academy of HRD, Rural Marketing Association of India, Ahmedabad Management Association, Human Resource Association of India, Society for Applied Behavioral Sciences, National HRD Network and All India Management Association.

Dr. Mehta likes to stroll outdoors, listen to music, party with close friends, and read in his free time. 

Please feel free to reach out to the poet at archanm@hotmail.com or through LinkedIn. 

Other poetry by Dr. Mehta on Two Drops of Ink 

 

 

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