Jagged, haggard, ancient shell
concealing ornate core so well
that only time or diligence
may admit fissures, luminance,
to excavate your hollowed heart
and gaze the grandeur of your art:

meticulously rendered stone
millennia toward ages grown
from minerals to gems adored
as jasper, agate, amethyst.

Imagine all this unexplored,
with all your wondrous luster missed
- how you admonish, "Look within,"
and, "Never judge by touch or skin."