Ars Poetica

By Rishi Mehta

 

When you write

About a cigarette

Roll the paper you use

In your hands

And pack it with tobacco

Careful not to burn yourself.

 

When you write about a river

Throw the paper

In the water

Careful not to drown.

 

Don’t delve too far into reality

Lest we shall get lost

Don’t climb so high into fantasy

Lest we shall lose you.

 

An Icarus with a quill.

 

 

Rishi’s Bio: 

Rishi Mehta graduated Rutgers University in spring 2020 with a degree in Political Science and Creative Writing. He plans on pursuing an existential crisis in which he will choose between applying to law school or an MFA program. Beyond serving as a columnist for The Daily Targum, he has had the honor of serving as a Speechwriter for New Jersey’s Secretary of State, as well as for a number of political campaigns. Mehta enjoys writing fiction and poetry in his free time.