Monday, April 1, 2019

APRILIA ZANK



APRILIA ZANK

SPRING SONNET

When winter days turn darkness into light
And sparrow's voice is getting loud and gay
Brave March walks in with snowdrops fair and bright
And paints in green the meadows bare and gray

But soon he, too, must leave the conquered place
When lovely April and her court appear
She shows her princess face with charm and grace
And takes the reins without delay or fear

But lo, her moody quirks and whims beware
For she will play with storms and sun in turns
She'll kiss you softly with a breeze of air
And then she'll whip your face with snow that burns

So be on guard when she bestows her smile
Are you the one that she wants to beguile?






LILAC DAYS

a rainy day
in April
in this city
of many shades
in the mud
a twig of lilac in bloom
a splash of memory

at the other end
a room
cascading with lilac
vases, bowls, pitchers
bursting
with greedy garlands
dripping
with luring scents
from tender tissues
tense with anticipation

you could not come
that day
had good reasons
family duties
to me it was
the end
the last
of my lilac-tinged days







HEY JUDE

don't make it bad
give me back
my flower garlands
and the rainbow shreds
that caressed my ankles
with the softness of your palms

give me back
the feathers in my hair
the nakedness of my breasts
shimmering
beneath peace-patterned shirts

give me back
the boats we lay in
watching the moon
through delusive clouds
shaped
by the roundness of our lips

give me back
my marches
my fiery voice
my MLKs and my JFKs
who tuned the crowds
into the freedom gig

give me back
my wings
my visions
my craving for love
and my dauntlessness

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, at 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, UK, 2014). Aprilia 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. BAREFOOT TO ARCADIA, her bilingual collection of poems translated in Telugu by the eminent Indian poet and translator Dr. L. S. R. Prasad. was launched in 2018 in Hyderabad, India. 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, 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”, by the National Beat Poetry Foundation (USA). Aprilia is also a passionate photographer. To her, photography means the attempt to get a new insight into the essence of things. She has organised many photography exhibitions at the Ludwig Maximilian University and other cultural centres in Munich. Many of her images are prize winners and have been selected for poetry book covers.


2 comments :