APRILIA
ZANK
The Unbearable Lightness Of Dying
I don't
want to know
what
happened
to the
mouse I tore
from the
claws of the old cat
whether
it could hack it
down
under the discarded
Christmas
trees
or if its
aorta had been
punctured
by the feline fangs
and it
went straight
to the
heaven of mice
I don't
want to know
what
happened
to the
Christmas trees
after
they had been stripped
of
tinsel, baubles
and
cherubs' hymns
then
tossed to the curb
in the
filthy snow
I don't
care
whether
they were burnt
shredded
to chippings
or
drowned in lakes
to
shelter mating fish
I don't
want to know
what
happened
to the
infant bodies
lying in
the debris
after the
night raid
they had
had no tinsel
no golden
angels
on
Christmas trees
no even a
shaky shelter
above
their heads
like the
mating fish
under the
skeletal branches
I don't
want to know their names
the
morning newspaper
called
them
collateral
damage
First Day Of Lockdown
there is
a strange flattering of wings
in the
air heavy with rain
there are
petals of cherry blossom
falling
on nobody's shoulders
there are
lovers' footprints in the park
drowning
in sprawling mud
there are
streets like accursed snakes
casting
ominous spells on viral genomes
there are
anxious eyes
spying
from behind barred windows
there are
droplets of death
reeling
in an unfathomable
dance
macabre
there is
an infinite heaven above
and an
unfaltering human willpower below
Untitled
this is
an ugly poem
this is a
wicked poem
this is a
poem
about corpses
lined up
in
antiseptic bags
in the
basement
this is a
poem
about
weary customers
drawing
numbers
for
refundable purgatories
on the
ground-floor
this is a
poem
about a
young girl
on the
third floor
pulling
tight
at the
pink of her hoodie
to conceal
the
baldness of her head
this is a
poem
about an
old titan
on the
ninth floor
reading
instructions
how to
grow titan vertebrae
from his
Phoenix wings
this is a
poem
about the
twelfth floor
where
hurrying visitors
carry
intricate flower bouquets
for
newborn cherubs
this is a
poem
about
hell and heaven
this is a
love poem
APRILIA
ZANK
Dr.
APRILIA ZANK is a lecturer for Creative Writing and
Translation Theory from Germany. She received her PhD degree in Literature and
Psycholinguistics for her thesis THE WORD IN THE WORD Literary Text Reception
and Linguistic Relativity, from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,
where she started her academic career as a lecturer. She
is also a poet, a translator and the editor of two anthologies: the
English–German anthology poetry tREnD Eine englisch-deutsche Anthologie
zeitgenössischer Lyrik, LIT Verlag, Germany, 2010, and the anthology POETS IN
PERSON at the Glassblower (Indigo Dreams Publishing, U.K., 2014). She writes
verse in English and German, and was awarded a prize at the “Vera Piller”
Poetry Contest in Zurich. Her poetry collection, TERMINUS ARCADIA, was 2nd
Place Winner at the Twowolvz Press Poetry Chapbook Contest 2013 (U.K.).
BAREFOOT TO ARCADIA, her collection of poems translated in Telugu by the
eminent Indian poet and translator Dr. L. S. R. Prasad. was launched as a bilingual book in 2018 in Hyderabad,
India. Her Beat poetry collection READING THE SIGNS was published in the U.S.A.
in 2019. Aprilia has received wide recognition in both western and eastern
countries for her merits and achievements. She is active in many literary and
artistic groups in cooperative projects with poets and artists around the
world, a frequent judge in poetry and photography competitions, and a member of
the editorial boards of advisors of prestigious literary platforms such as Our
Poetry Archive (OPA), Sahitya Anand Literary Journal and Athena, Journal on
Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2018, she was awarded the title “Dr. Aprilia
Zank – Germany Beat Poet Laureate – Lifetime”, by the National Beat Poetry
Foundation (U.S.A.). Aprilia is also a passionate photographer. Many of her
images are prize winners and have been selected for poetry book covers.
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