APRILIA ZANK


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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