Aprilia Zank

 

Aprilia Zank

 

Offering

 

flesh

for greedy gods

to break the bone of night

in phallic bliss

under bruised skin

vowels fail words

gravity crashes

the womb's dumbness

light breaks onto steel

splinters spark on milk ways

under easy-iron eyelids

irises ache for wonders

 

 

Rapsodie Espagnole

 

out of the concert hall

in the dark

in the empty street

wondering

where all the passers-by

had vanished

 

I saw those fires

at an uncertain distance

those silhouettes

dancing,

or fighting,

or loving

 

and I was there

among the embers

and smoke

 

my veils caught fire

burnt layer by layer

my skin sparkled

with scattered pearls

 

ghosts all around

 

I sensed their eyes

pierce the darkness

their breath

build bridges to my lips

 

while the old gypsy

grinned

shuffled the cards

to tell me a fortune

which I was unwilling

to hear

 

 

Pygmalion And Galatea

 

after the rush hour

the hour of late comers

alone in cars

lonely in full subways

heading towards homes

with neatly tidied wardrobes

and fast food

rewarmed in the microwave

in a corner

the silicone she

beckons with golden hair

and breasts

bursting with the fullness

of pomegranates

she teases your desire

with the warmth

of her high-tech skin

and the softness of hi-fi voice

with lecherous moans

altering at command

you can love her

hug her

fuck her

kick her

strangle her 

fill her mouth

with the mud of your mind

you can cheat your body

into robotic orgasm

cheat your brain

into guilt free immersion

cheat your life

with the illusion of embodiment

but when you take off

your 3D glasses

the dreamscape vanishes

and you find yourself

alone again

in the emptiness of the world

for you are not Pygmalion

and your Galatea

is nothing more

than the shell of a gynoid

 

APRILIA ZANK

 

Dr. APRILIA ZANK is a lecturer for Creative Writing and Translation Theory from Germany. She is also a poet, a translator and editor of anthologies. 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. BAREFOOT TO ARCADIA was translated in Telugu by the eminent Indian poet Dr. L. S. R. Prasad and published in India in 2018 as a bilingual book. Her Beat poetry collection READING THE SIGNS was launched in the USA in 2019. Aprilia has received wide recognition in both western and eastern literary circles for her merits and achievements, and her poetry has been published and translated in many countries of the world. In 2018, she was awarded the title “Dr. Aprilia Zank – Germany Beat Poet Laureate – Lifetime”, by the National Beat Poetry Foundation (USA). Aprilia is also a passionate photographer. Many of her images are prize winners and have been selected for poetry book covers.