By: Dr. Archan Mehta
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Poem #1: Who Is a Poet?
One needs to be touched
With a divine madness
To be a poet.
After all,
A poet creates a poem
Only when our good
And dear Lord whispers
Sweet nothings in his ears
And the Devil starts to
Dance with two left feet
Dead drunk and stoned
Or worse,
Moving in for the kill.
A poet is labeled crazy
In a world of ridiculous people
Following rules blindly,
Devoid of an iota
Of intelligence.
People who can’t dream,
Who can’t think freely
‘and toe the official line.
A poet dances madly
In a world obsessed
About following conventions:
The masses, after all, will
Fall at the feet of
Whoever is in power,
Even the village idiot.
The masses think
like the way
They are taught to think.
But the insane poet throws caution
To the winds and writes, regardless.
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Poem #2: Romance of Death
Sooner or later,
Death enters
Your home:
Without knocking,
Death announces its arrival
Like a snarling dog
Biting at your heels.
Sooner or later,
Death carries a dagger
With a jagged edge
Aimed to plunge
Into your collar bone
And bleed your heart
Dry like an abandoned
Rock lying upside down
In a dry, dreary desert landscape.
Sooner or later,
Death will whisper
In your ears that
It is time to go
And exit through
A wide, open, large door.
Sooner or later,
Death will say:
Your worldly success
And failure doesn’t matter:
Fame and fortune and romance
Don’t matter and, in the
End, only I count for you.
Sooner or later, death
Will claim your life
Like a ticket collector
On a moving train.
Poem #3: Remembering Piya Sen
You know
I would be
Lying if I told
You that I don’t
Find you attractive.
Truth be told,
Everything about you
I find is attractive.
The way, for example,
You toss your hair,
From side to side,
The way you play
With your hair,
The way you caress
Your jewelry when you
Feel nervous in my presence.
Your eyes are shiny
And welcoming like an
Honored guest in your home.
Your home is your heart,
Which opens like a flower
To invite me inside.
Your eyes are like
The color of the ocean
During the hour of lunch.
Why do you stroke your own
Skin when you secretly
Feel like touching me?
I know you secretly
Long for me to follow
You like a stalker
Waiting in the shadows,
But complain that I
Take too much
Interest in your life.
You don’t know what
You want but hope to
Find it one day.
Your naked passion,
Which throbs and pulsates
Like a rhythmic wave in
The deep, blue ocean.
You wait for me impatiently
Even when you know there
Is no chance I will ever
Visit you on my day of rest.
After all, it is Sunday and
You remember me and feel
Lonely and yearn for my
Presence in your life,
But I am not
There for you.
You spend long hours
Standing before the
Large mirror in your bedroom,
Dressing up: trying on different
Clothes to please me, eventually.
There is no place to hide
Because my eyes follow you
Everywhere and I know about
Your heart’s sacred longings.
How much it pleases you
When, for example, a passing
Stranger says “hello” and smiles
In the early morning dawn.
How it breaks your heart
When I am not there
To comfort you during
Your frequent crying spells.
How you crave my soothing
Presence when you feel
Upset and throw temper
Tantrums, angry with your world.
How my soft touch and calm voice
Drive away the gloomy and
Dark clouds from the sky
Called your tragic life.
Honey, you are going
To have to learn to
Live without my company.
My companionship means
The world to you, but I have
Drifted far away from shore.
Poem #4: Why I Create Poetry
I create poetry
To stay sane
In an insane world.
I create poetry
For the hapless
Masses, to help
And support the underdogs.
I create poetry
To feed a starving baby,
Holy milk from my soul.
I create poetry
Because I want to
Encourage people to
Slow down for a change.
After all, the masses are
Always in a hurry,
Starting from nowhere
And ending up in a grave.
I create poetry
Because I want to
Feed the souls
Of the pure and innocent.
I create poetry
Because it is a fading art.
I create poetry
Because I want to
Provide shelter to the homeless.
I create poetry
To shed light on a world
Falling to pieces, lying in ruins,
And stumbling in the darkness.
I create poetry
Because I am a loud
And quiet and aggressive
Poet who secretly
Believes in peace and non-violence.
I create poetry
About realities and
Illusions and interpretations.
I create poetry
To awaken the masses
And disturb their sleep.
I create poetry
To provoke corrupt
Officials, who
Hold on to power
And influence,
With a call to take action.
I create poetry
To stimulate corpses
In the academy, who claim
To be intellectuals or worse.
I create poetry
To warn the world
That there is truth
In the democracy
Of ideas regardless
Of who owns the earth.
I create poetry
To serve notice
To those who
Command and control
That ultimately it is
The creative impulse
Which is everybody’s boss.
I create poetry so that
Everybody feels like a winner.
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
- Anglo-Welsh Poetry Society: “Borderlines”
- 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.
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