Issue A5 | Poetry | September 2015

Interviewing a Beetroot: A Poem

Arjun Rajendran

Interviewing a Beetroot

First boil it with your eyes

highlight some keywords in the resume: organic, pesticide,

Monsanto…

Ask about its strengths – if it says

I’ve always been fresh, look unimpressed.

A successful interviewer treats

all

beetroots

like fungi. Ask

its weaknesses – the answer doesn’t matter, only

the tone; a precision to match the trajectory of your pee

to its naphthalene home. You’ve seconds

to guess if the beetroot has any bones.

You’re the man, and real

 men

 don’t

 fear

 beetroots.

Assess if it’s overqualified

for poriyal, under qualified for Borscht.

Smile. Smile.

Always keeping in mind how a beetroot is

colored, a potato isn’t;

a beetroot will hemmorhage the pot, turn

it a commie red – so never offer

a beetroot a chance to be anything but a salad.