Mining Stone Cold Metaphor

An uncarved block became a block
When it broke—and how many times
Do mountains break apart before

We think of their bones as boulders?
Carve an uncarved block and you’ll find
Self-similarity inside—

Fossils and gems aren’t so common.
Inclusions remain exceptions.
There’s a lot of repetition

In a mountain, in a stratum,
In a seam, in an uncarved block.
But we do worship monoliths,

Don’t we, pilgrim? We do adore
Giant hunks of redundant rocks—
Standing stones, stelae, uncarved blocks.