APRILIA ZANK

 

Landscape

 

replicated

by a thousand reflections

the landscape of your mind

is blurred and delusive

layers of shadow

intercept frugal hues of light

the air is torn

by unseen bird-calls

summits stab the placid sky

valleys sag like wounded wombs

 

I try to glimpse

through your closed eyelids

but the doors of your mind

are tight shut

your windows barred

your seats empty

your tongue

aching

with unsaid words

 

Learning From Birds

 

I'm learning from birds

to sense patterns of light

hours before

the night's shadows fade

 

I'm learning from birds

to search for shelter

amidst merciful twigs

when thunders approach

 

I'm learning from birds

to follow the call

of ageless forefathers

to head for shores

never fathomed before

and trust the stars

to guide me unerringly

to an everlasting return

 

On Listening To Gardel

While Peeling Carrots

 

the blade of my mother's peeler

reveals the salmon red, juicy flesh

of the carrots

with unaltered precision

as sharp as ever

after all those years

 

on crudely refurbished records

Gardel reels his passión

in words pregnant with vowels

that unleash endorphins

long before the morphemes

reach the left hemisphere

alma de mi vida

corazón

amor

 

at the poetry workshop

they teach you

to forget words –

hope

soul

sadness

turn to scrubland

and we delete our hearts piece by piece

lest their beats should sound obsolete

 

in my kitchen

a bandoneon challenges the eternity

with suspiros de amor...

 

 

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.