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Putting words in my mouth by Chirag Mehta


Art by Joseph Lorusso

Putting words in my mouth


I caress the contents of the menu card

I like to pick and choose

My mouth must water

I want it freshly made, just for me

Now, I'm asking too much

but the Chef does not mind.

I want something light & bite-sized

I ease my way in, I don't want to rush

I'm afraid of choking

Slowly, I bite into it

My mouth is full of phrases.


Bring it over, gently

do not spill or leak on the way

This soup is precious and

seasoned with words


Now, for the main course

I want prose and paragraphs

big enough

to satiate my hunger

to conjure my love for poems.

I'd like to chew it right from the bone.

No spoons or fork

I want to eat and taste

With my ink-stained hands.

Serve it with flatbread

Smear clarified butter on top

Along with pickled onions on the side.

If there's anything left, pack it up!

Leftover poem tastes like Rajma.

Its flavour and meaning

intensify on the next day.


You cannot leave without dessert.

Three scoops of sundae and some pie

I want Butterscotch blues

and Raspberry rhymes.

This is for my sweet tooth

And to cool down everything

that's cooking in my belly

since I lit the flame of poetry.


About the poet:

I'm a writer in crisis. I want to expose myself to words. It's been only 3 to 4 years since I have started writing poems, but I can already see the transformation of my thoughts and ideas that prevail in my mind. Poems now have become an integral part of my life. I want people to read between the lines of a poem and derive their own meaning like every poem is personal. Find Chirag's words on AllPoetry and Instagram


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