This is a poem in this series of 144 poems that I’m writing based on the dodeks, or twelfth parts, of the Zodiac signs. As far as I know, everybody else calls them dodekatemoria, but that’s a very complicated word to say, so I just call them dodeks.
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Taurus of Libra: the First Scratch
17 Libra 30′ to 19° Libra 59′
Everyone is proud of their newest wheels,
giving it a polish as they pass by.
So the first damage rocks their on our heels.
We know it must happen — but still we try
to avoid that inevitable fate.
Sometimes a bush on the driveway's verges;
the edge of someone's door, or open gate;
an acorn, a branch, or rock emerges
that thunks on a window, draws metal screams.
It might just be a white scar through blue paint?
Some see minor dents — to you, it ain't.
The passer-by's purse, a rivet on jeans...
Maybe it isn't a serious gash,
but each scratch, we fear, turns treasure to trash.
Image: A Roman charioteer and a modern car driver pass through an intersection, each proud of their new vehicles and eager to keep them unmarred.
Important Relationships
- Part of the Term of Jupiter
- Part of Decan II of Libra (administrated by the Moon): Two Links of Chain
Colophon
This is a part of a series of poems based on the dodekatemoria, or twelfth parts, of the Zodiac signs. The dodekatemoria are sub-segments of the Zodiac, each representing two degrees thirty minutes (2° 30′) of arc; there are 144 dodeks (as I call them) in the full Zodiac, or twelve in each sign. Each dodek is supposed to be a recapitulation or miniature repetition or summary of its parent zodiac sign, as though it were filtered through the lens of the main sign.
The Sun crosses this distance of 2° 30′ in about two and a half days, making these dodeks cognate with the Moon, which crosses one sign of the Zodiac, or thirty degrees (30°) in about two and a half days. The Sun’s passage through a dodek thus mirrors the Moon’s passage through a sign, and squeezes a “mini-year” of passage through twelve signs into a single month.
Each series of dodeks begins at 0° 00′ of its parent sign with the same sign, and there are four dodeks in each sequence of 10° degrees. Each poem in this series will give a (my) name of the dodek, its relevant degrees, a sonnet describing it, a 1-2 sentence description of the dodek, and some other information.
