APRILIA ZANK

 

Echoes

 

I thought I'd heard

a child cry for help

when I passed the lake

yet, on turning my head

all I sensed was snow dust

on its frozen mirror

 

we'd take a torch

to light our passage

through the snow

towering the path

I was aching with fear

at the thought

that the white roebuck

might cross our steps

rumours went about

that even the wolves

would weasel out of its way

only the cursed maid

who had dared

to cast a glimpse

would now roam about

moon white

in her torn gown

 

I would hear

the cry of lambs

rent by wolves

in the crux of night

and the whistle of trains

ghosting by

never slowing to stop

 

Look Prints

 

I took the walk

that you used to

sat on the same bench

searched for look prints

on the facade

across the alley

filtered the silence

for messages

 

a squirrel trod over

and waited...

maybe you had fed it

on crumbs and nuts

there were things

we hadn't known

about each other

words unspoken

sounds peeling off

like moth wings

from ragged silk

 

it was an early

January day

foggy with visions

of the past

and with the promise

of a late inception

 

 

In My End Is My Beginning

 

there are cracks in the earth

baring sore roots

under a callous sun

 

there are birds

blinded by wandering dust

craving for shade

 

there are alien cells

in the grey mass

anxious to build new paradigms

 

there is a hope for rain

lingering on dry leaves

in dwindling woods

 

there is a seed in the earth

deep under silent ash

dreaming of germination

 

APRILIA ZANK

Dr. APRILIA ZANK is an educationist, freelance lecturer for Creative Writing and Translation Theory, as well as a multilingual poet, translator, editor from Munich, Germany and an Author of the Poetry book BAREFOOT TO ARCADIA. Born in Romania, she studied English and French Literature and Linguistics at the University of Bucharest, and then moved to Munich, Germany where 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, where she started her teaching career. The research for her PhD thesis was done in collaboration with six universities from Europe, and as a visiting lecturer at Alberta University of Edmonton, Canada. Dr Aprilia writes verses in English and German, French and Romanian and was awarded a distinction 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. In 2018, she was awarded the title “Dr. Aprilia Zank – Germany Beat Poet Laureate”, by the National Beat Poetry Foundation (USA). She has been an acclaimed guest at cultural events in Germany, Great Britain, Canada, Turkey, Singapore and Romania, where she read her poems, delivered lectures on various topics. Her poems and articles are published in many ezines and Anthologies of different countries.