Poetry Corner* Dr. Archan Mehta

 

Mystery of Creation

Sometimes, I accidentally bump into the masses,

Reluctantly, and against my will and better judgment:

Suddenly, the masses stop me and demand my attention

And ask: poet, how do you create poetry? I reply: well, I

Really don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. After

That, the masses look at me, like I’m being funny or

Cracking a joke, or pulling their legs or just being a

Smart aleck or a wise guy, but I am serious. I don’t

Have the answers and it is okay not to know. I am not

A magician who wields a wand and I don’t know how to

Pull a rabbit out of a hat. Since I am not God, I don’t try

To play God. I wish the masses understood that the act

Of creation is a mystery instead of thinking that I am a

Mad hatter. Folks, a poet is vulnerable to and insecure

About his muse. And a poet cannot set terms and conditions

For his muse. The muse is eccentric and transcends reason.

BIO:

Dr. Archan Mehta has earned a PhD. in Management. Currently, he is a Consultant and Writer based in India. In his free time, Dr. Mehta likes to stroll in the outdoors and party with close friends. He is also fond of meditation. Please feel free to reach out to the poet at archanm@hotmail.com at your convenience.

Join us For Karaoke Kristmas, 2025!

 

WHEN: DECEMBER 18, 2025

WHERE: MAJOR CHARLES L. HUNT VFW POST

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REQUESTED DONATION:

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Poetry Corner Featured Poet* Glenn Schneider, Jr.

DISPOSABLE INCOME

A disposable income

Is a singular outcome 

Just for you.

Unjust for the Earth.

We give our disposable incomes

To those that sell disposable things.

Why do we dispose our incomes like this?

Dispose them into the bank accounts 

Of selfish, destructive people. 

Their wealth is made of our money.

Our money,

That we carelessly hand over 

To those that only see our loving Earth as a resource

To be transformed into trash

To be sold. 

Why do we dispose our incomes to them? 

Is it worth the convenience, fake comfort, and trash? 

How do you make disposable income?

The ingredients:

Hours worked

Energy given

Life tossed 

To the timesheet.

The reward:

Income you can dispose of.

In a despicable way. 

A disgraceful way. 

A dreamy and dreary way. 

A disastrous and deadening way. 

A desperate way. 

A “distinguished” way. 

A dubious way. 

A dangerous way. 

A dumb-ass way. 

A dips-shitted way. 

A way

That is hard not to follow

As it calcifies around us

Into a system

Of consumption. 

Disturbing. 

I’m disturbed. 

I live here.

And I do it too. 

I am shame.

I will be a little 

Better than you

Waste a little less and

Feel more righteous. 

How did I earn this righteousness? 

Is it as simple as 

Having less disposable income?

If I had more

Would I get with the program

And waste more? 

Either way, 

For now 

I can curse

Your actions.

Exit my rage

Over my own compliance,

Maybe even my own jealously,

That you have so much

That you can dispose of it

So carefreely. 

So carelessly. 

Yet, simplicity can exist

Outside that system.

Patience over consumption. 

Compassion over consumption.

Simplicity over consumption. 

Simplicity, Patience, Compassion. 

They are free. 

They even cost negative money. 

Less hours

Less energy

Less life

Less waste.

Wants reduced

Needs contemplated

Needs considered well

Needs well pursued.

An income

Well used

Less used

Better quality

Of stuff

Of life. 

CREATIVE MATERIAL

Creative material 

Is made with time, energy, resources, 

Words

Used to contemplate.

Material. 

Material goods.

Material waste. 

Material consumption. 

Consumption 

Is a disease 

Also known as tuberculosis.

Diminishing breath,

Contagious,

Spread through 

The air

The heirs

The ears. 

The air is

Spoiled by the production and hauling

Of the disposable things we buy. 

The heiress 

Beautiful and influential says, 

“I am royal and desirable. 

Spend and be like me.” 

The ears

Are listening and overtaken, 

Giving your attention,

Your mind and 

You’re sold. 

Overbuying

Overowning

Overspending

Overfilling

Overconsuming

Overwhelming

Stop. 

Overcome.

A weakness,

That feels momentarily strong

With the purchase

That you tell yourself will improve your life. 

Forgotten in the garbage in

No time. 

It will sit in the dump for, 

Yes, time. 

We want access to excess. 

More clothing

More gadgets

More gear

More things

More cheaply

More quickly

We want easy excess. 

My instinct is to 

Ease excess.

To ease access to excess.

Spend time, not money.

Make your material creative, compostable. 

Give your time, energy, resources to

Poems and words.

Alive and thriving in their time.

Then easily easing into the ether.

Into the Earth. 

Bio

Glenn Schneider Jr.

Born and raised by loving and wild parents along with three younger sisters on Chicago’s South Side, in Mt. Greenwood. His first love was literature, studying for a BA and MA at UIC. He then spent 3 years adventuring around the Americas including commercial fishing in Alaska, biking/hiking/hitching California’s Highway 1, and a year teaching and wandering in Colombia and Mexico. He returned to his roots in 2015 with an amplified excitement to explore the beauty of his home. That same year, he and a childhood friend started a non-profit that believes in adventure and finding the natural beauty here, near Lake Michigan. He is now the full-time Executive Director of that non-profit called Out Our Front Door which mainly leads inclusive bike camping trips from Chicago to teach about local nature and history. In 2025, he married Ahleli, the loveliest woman on the planet. That same year, he finished his first book, Travel Stories for My Home: Adventures on the Open Road and the Embrace of Return. He currently lives in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.

Poetry Corner* Dr. Archan Mehta

 

Escape

It is the power to dream which has helped to set

Me free from these invisible chains. I felt 

Like a caged bird, who wanted to sing old and 

Cherished songs, but I was not even aware that

A better and brighter dawn existed above and 

Beyond these dark and dingy walls. I felt suffocated

And could not breathe. The air was toxic and the

People were full of greed and ego. These evil people

Refused to let me go and would not take no for an

Answer. I could not find a convenient exit and was

Locked inside and could not hide. Finally, I found a

Master key. Escaping into the wilderness was my

Destiny. I filled my lungs with fresh air: the oxygen

Entered my blood stream and I felt better than before.

The touch of sunshine on my shoulder made me

Long for more: Mother Nature bestowed her blessings galore.

BIO:

Dr. Archan Mehta has earned a PhD. in Management. Currently, he is a Consultant and Writer based in India. In his free time, Dr. Mehta likes to stroll in the outdoors and party with close friends. He is also fond of meditation. Please feel free to reach out to the poet at archanm@hotmail.com at your convenience.

 

Poetry Corner* Dr. Archan Mehta

 Playing It By Ear

The masses are in search of a formula, but

I am different: I choose to play it by ear. I

Am not a magician and, therefore, don’t

Wield a wand: I can’t make dreams come true.

When I feel thirsty, I drink a glass of water.

When I feel hungry, I sit down for a meal.

When I feel tired, well, I go to sleep. My

Life is not like a 9 to 5 job with a commute.

Therefore, please don’t ask me for a ballpark

Figure with respect to my routine or schedule.

I am not a bookkeeper or accountant, so I

Don’t keep score. I don’t remember the exact

Date I graduated from high school: I will have

To look it up. I operate out of the box. After all,

Creativity transcends rules. That is why a poet

Is perceived to be a rebel, outcast and a fool.

BIO:

Dr. Archan Mehta has earned a PhD. in Management. Currently, he is a Consultant and Writer based in India. In his free time, he likes to stroll the outdoors and party with close friends. 

He is also fond of meditation.

Please feel free to reach out to the poet at archanm@hotmail.com at your convenience.

Image credit: Pixabay.com

Poets United Awards Robin Denise Williams Memorial Writing Scholarship to Local Poet

In our ongoing mission to amplify the voices of marginalized artists, provide a platform to emerging and established poets, and “advance the arts,” Poets United is proud to announce the recipient of our Robin D. Williams Memorial Writing Scholarship---Zarria Alexander.

After an exhaustive search, Ms. Alexander was chosen for her excellence in poetry and her advocacy and empowerment of women everywhere. In her debut book, “Lived Through Hell,” she chronicles her journey through sexual abuse, depression, single parenting…and ultimately healing and hope. This timely collection consists of more than130 poems.

She states, “Sharing your story can be a terrifying thing, but your given testimony could save someone’s life. If you’ve ever faced rape, abandonment, betrayal, or heartbreak--you are not alone.” 

Zarria is a poet, writer, mother and 5th place winner in Lincoln University’s Poetry Slam. 

The Robin D. Williams Scholarship of $400.00 is a one-time award, provided to assist in publishing, marketing, and related educational expenses, to help advance a career in writing.

To learn more, visit her website

https://livedthroughhell.com/

   

September Book Review* By Gail Merriwether

Recently, my sister in New Jersey sent me a book, knowing I'm an avid reader. She'd heard about a recommendation from an east coast book club and promptly purchased and mailed me a brightly-colored, hardcover 330-page novel entitled 'The Sun Sets in Singapore' by Kehinde Fadipe. 

 The book is a tale of three black women, Dara, Amaka and Lillian, all 30-somethings living and working in the  Republic of Singapore, an island state in southeast Asia. 

On the surface, Singapore is an idyllic world of multinational corporations, high-class shopping, and five-star restaurants set amid lush tropical gardens,  but as the author states on her cover flap, this Eden harbors a snake.   

Dara is a workaholic lawyer from the UK, Amaka is a banker from Nigeria, and Lillian from the U.S., is a pianist who has lost her desire to play and instead followed her diplomat husband to Singapore along with their two children.

The three women are friends by virtue of being black and female in a predominantly Asian society and gather regularly for girlfriend outings.  But when a tall, dark, and handsome stranger is introduced into their midst...everything changes. Competiton rears its ugly head.  How the women handle this interloper in light of the casual racism and sexism of the society they operate in severely tests the bonds of their friendship.

My sister's choice was not accidental.  Knowing I'd worked for the UN for several years in various global outposts, she thought I might relate to being a minority and/or female working in a foreign country. She was right, of course, as I noted several relational points throughout the story, e.g. housing issues, financial issues, (Singapore is a very expensive city to live in), difficulties of dating outside of one's culture, and the occasional homesickness and longing for things familiar.

Regarding the characters, author Fadipe paints the women as a bit 2-dimensional, or shallow, sometimes making choices that often don't seem logical, with little inclination toward committed relationships, and perhaps even a bit promiscuous.

On the plus side, the author paints a vivid picture of the bustling, multicultural hub that is Singapore, and the story is moderately paced; a book to put down and pick up again, making it an ideal summer read.

Fadipe, a young black author trained as a Royal Academy actor with both stage and screen credits, has also produced a short film entitled 'Spirit Children'.  This is her first novel.

BIO:

GAIL MERRIWETHER is a retired Chicago cop and member of Poets United to Advance the Arts.