Poetry Corner* Dr. Archan Mehta

 

 On Creativity

The “experts” said:

If you are truly a writer,

As you claim,

Well, make sure you pen

At least 1,000 words per day.

Less than that,

And we will consider

You an amateur writer

Or, what is worse,

Maybe even a fraud or imposter.

And please keep in mind

That we are busy and important

People and therefore have

No time to worship false gods.

However, I did not

Know how to convey

That I was a writer

By intuition and not by discipline.

Thus, when the muse visited me,

I would immediately put

Pen to paper. For example,

I would wake, suddenly,

At the crack of dawn, 

With sweat on my brow

And I would sit down

To the art of writing:

Well, as a matter of fact,

That sort of life

Felt truly exciting.

But put me in a room

At a certain hour

And I tend to

Run out of ideas.

I feel helpless and weak

And fail to meet

Publication deadlines

And turn into a

Helpless wallflower

At that ungodly hour.

After all,

Creativity is a mysterious process,

Which I am still struggling

To figure out:

Creative writing cannot

Be forced or whipped into action.

In fact, creativity needs

Freedom to breathe

And nobody knows

Where creativity will ultimately lead.

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.

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