Poet Voice: T.A.K Erzinger

Wings of "Rituals": An Interview with Poet T.A.K. Erzinger

T.A.K. Erzingers poem “Rituals” helps us think deeply about life, nature, and our place in the world.

We sent T.A.K. Erzinger some questions about “Rituals,” and their answers really help us understand the delicate, yet powerful world inside their poem.

T.A.K. Erzinger shares: “In the poem ‘Ritual’ it is the return of butterflies and spring that symbolizes the cycle of life. Spring, a metaphor for a seasonal rite that take place every year asking for little but giving back in abundance. The poem is a reminder to take notice of this delicate ritual and the creatures that each have their purpose on this planet and keep nature going. The poem as a whole is a metaphor for how every life is important.

Regarding the tone, the tone is seemingly hopeful but there is also an undercurrent of foreboding in the text, e.g. moody sky…incoming storm…you cannot stop now… The voice of the poem is also communicating a warning.

I suppose personal experience shapes our beliefs. I live in a very small hamlet of a little over 300 people, in a valley surrounded by the Alps. My neighbors are a few and far between and mostly farmers, their animals and the wildlife around me. I walk a lot in the forest and sit within it watching and listening. As well as bearing witness to the outside world and its consumption, how it is inadvertently and advertently through extreme capitalism destroying our natural world.

I hope first and foremost that readers will find both the beauty and tragedy in it. I hope it will make them think differently the next time they see a butterfly whether in the city, the country wherever and reflect a little more about where it might have come from and its importance in the world. Furthermore, how and what we can do as a society to better protect not just butterflies, but all the silent workers in nature that keep the world ticking over for future generations to witness and appreciate.”

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