Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Scorpion

I thought I'd compose a piece for each of the signs for the zodiac.  I'll continue with this over the next few weeks or however long it takes to get through each of them.  

When compiling lists or working in sequence, that their seems to be a natural order.  We typically begin with either the first and move to the last or begin with the last and move back to the first.  There are countless ways to work through "lists" or ideas belonging to groups.  That said I thought I'd begin with my own sign, Scorpio.

The Scorpion
Rebirth, Renewal, Regeneration
Death card firmly played,
         Yet never fully read
                  From ends—
                           Life springs
Reborn, each and every day
Persistence’s eroding shine
         Consistency of passion—
Atilt, stinging bite of tailed strike
As creativity dominates all
         Pathways taken in this life

Achieve, we will—
         Lest, the jade monster envelops all

In my blood a phoenix cries
Pining for the hour
         With a stare so deep
                  Intensely traversing
                           Repressed layers of soul

An unwillingness to open
                           To express the many secrets kept
         Isolates
                           Separates
Love
         Is but an obscure dream
                  Yet through passion
                           Some days it seems found
Until
         The honeymoon expires
And the hours grow
                                             Apart

Neutrality is vocabulary unassociated
         Love or dislike, the only options
                  Enigmatic schizophrenia
Of spirit and mind
         Ever changing composition
As each luster fades or shines

We cannot fail
A piece dies if we do

S       P       A       C       E
Opens
Doorways
         Within the self
Into the spirit of others
If Hypnotic charms allowed

M. Pointed tail
Upwardly aim
Red skies
Purple clouds
Black.

Water submerges thought
Water revitalizes the broken
Heals the whole…self
Warrior and destroyer

Number 9, Number 9, Number 9, Number 9
Nine, Nine, Nine…Not a number alone

My day, amongst peers,
Kin connected through stars,
        
On the third of November, a marathon runner was born.  His race is far from over; his race is never done.  Fears of second best can spark or finish him.  The way forward is, and always has been through, knowledge, the intellectual power that binds the soul like epoxy does the thralls of repair. 

People tend to learn, continuously, as days march on. Where each step is taken, another step is spawned.  We learn more about ourselves in times of tribulation and moments of distress than ever could we dare to learn in the sentences of victory and happiness.

Pace, I have, I will
         Continue focused
In progressive rendering
         Persistence I’ll not forget
Yet be warned
         A ruthless side I’ve been known to adorn
Thorns of inlets coarsely form,
Depressive to charms internal—
         Closed to external adoration
Until the phoenix flies anew

Under veils of self control
         We bide the time to strike
Tail twitch
         Twitch of tail
Flood the passageway
         With communication on my side
Broad horizons,
                  Built superhuman by designation
Creative endeavors never cease in their spout forth
         Until the common good is solved
Then—
         A moment of relaxation,
                  A period of observation the grandiose well
Until—
                  The time is ready to begin the process,
Of regeneration and rebirth…
        
         A sting of a scorpion, the wings of a phoenix
Intrinsically bind the time that leads us.



  

9 comments:

  1. A sting of a scorpion, the wings of a phoenix
    Intrinsically bind the time that leads us....beautiful...and what a challenge to write about the signs..so your birthday is coming up soon...smiles
    my eldest daughter is a scorpion as well...i'm a capricorn...looking forward to what are you going to write...

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  2. Not sure how much I believe signs of the zodiac can really stat one's true nature, but I loved how you played with it and how you chose to go about presenting it. That is if you intended to and blogger didn't screw with you some more..haha..still liked it, so blogger wasn't so bad this time if it did. As soon as I saw the title thought you were going to rift on the scorpion and the frog, I guess there are parts since it is a scorpion, there is my rant for now, once again you can wow. Sould be interesting to see what you say about mine with your verses for each zodiac sign.

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  3. Claudia- Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully I do a good job on all of them, my mother's a capricorn as well. Yep, birthday is coming soon...well, actually only 9 hrs or so left US East Coast time, probably almost done now in Germany. Thanks:)

    Pat,

    I never used to put too much credence into astrology but I tell you the past five or six years the more I've read, the stuff is pretty dead on. Of course there will always be the exceptions and the levels of accuracy but it's very eerie how it can reveal so much about a person. Not sure about Cats though, especially in Chinese astrology- oh, I'm sorry that was a terrible joke-lol Oh, Scorpion and the Frog, no but good, very good one. Well when I get to yours you'll have to tell me how accurate it is. Thanks

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  4. I have many Scorpio friends and they are all more than ever-changing, striving not to fail and lovable each and all!

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  5. First, I’m blown away by what you’ve done here so I apologize the comment is long. I am this morning writing a poem about Freyr’s lament from the Poetic Edda you may enjoy. I tell you this because after you read it you may feel I need to give you a subconscious inspiration credit :).

    Now to your poetry series on the Zodiac. I love this poem, there’s passion and clarity in the voice. Beginning with your own sign (by the way happy early, belated, or today birthday!) is perfect. What a beginning it is full of rebirth, regeneration is really the only way creativity thrives.

    The stanza beginning with ‘in my blood a phoenix cries’ is incandescent, the stare a lit fuse. We see the obfuscating power of secrets, wounds that isolate, the loneliness that arises. The myriad ways we shut out and damper our lives.

    I love how you’ve visualized space. I was watching Iris Murdoch last night; she was talking about how great art creates imaginative space for the viewer. I found her ideas fascinating as yours here as the space needs to grow within so we can be open to others and the beauty of the world. Maybe this is our divinity within. You may see it differently but I wanted to tell you how it connected with me.

    This is profoundly beautiful, the water healing, your celestial kin. You use today, the only day we know we have, to begin. The change of tone to warning helps the reader remember that our shadow is part of the self. We must know and see it for what it is if we’re to gain an integrated self. The image of the scorpion biding time, knowing when to strike applies to so much of our lives.

    The last stanza is stellar. Heavens, a feast of a poem today, I can’t wait to read the whole series. Really sublime work here Fred.

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  6. Anna, Loved your Norse piece, truly wonderful write. Really glad you enjoyed this piece of mine. Thank you, Perhaps in Colorado it's still the 3rd, yes I believe it is. It was a decent day, sister, bro-in-law and niece came over. Mother made Moussaka which is one of my favorite meals, so not a bad day at all. Again, thanks for the wishes.

    For this piece, and for the series, I think I'm going after the symbolism of the sign, and all the representations the sign does or could present. secrets and space are huge here, so glad you were drawn to them. I agree with Iris Murdoch so much in the relationship space and creativity have on one another and then how that combination plays out in the patron's mind. I'm extremely pleased the piece connected with you, that means a lot to me.

    I like your interpretation of why I used today. Really shines another dimension to the piece, although my rationale was actually pretty simple in this case, it happened to be today and happened to be my birthday so I used it-lol But don't tell anyone, I'm going to adopt your take, it's so much deeper than my own;)

    Yes the water and the tone very important I felt as well.

    The biding time, does apply to our lives. Another element of the scorpio is that if backed into a corner they would rather sting themselves to death then lose at another's hand. I found that story interesting for a while now, just couldn't really fit it in, believe me I did try:)

    Again, thanks I really like consistency and to continue out whatever is offered early again later on and feel I did that well here, so glad you saw it. Finally the phoenix mythology has always been one of my favorites, and I was so amazed when first reading the meanings and symbols behind my sign that it included it. Again, thanks so much, your feedback is always looked forward to

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  7. I will look forward to more poems of this series. It does seem natural to begin with your own sign. :)

    Of creativity and the Scorpion -- an attitude of patience, focus, control perhaps suggesting consistencey and proper pacing, but that doesn't mean Scorpio cannot suddenly move quickly at the right time -- to strike, sting. The linking with the Phoenix is interesting and new to me, certainly fascinating.

    This would be a fascinating study for me as well. I've never much delved deeply into the origins of the zodiac. Your poem has sparked my interest in this.

    And have a happy (belated) birthday, Fred. :)

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  8. very cool fred...this wil be an intersting journey through the signs...the death card firmly played but not fully read is a very cool early line in this...

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  9. Thank you for your detailed reply, I always enjoy these discussions :).

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