“He cracked the geode open and found a small universe of crystals,” uses surprise and hidden beauty as poetic material; A poet might write, “My plain heart was a geode,” to suggest an ordinary exterior containing richness within; “The geode kept its violet stars beneath a dusty shell” creates a vivid contrast between outside and inside; In a poem about discovery, “one hammer blow revealed the geode’s bright chamber” can represent sudden understanding; “Do not mistake the rough stone for emptiness, she said, holding the geode” makes the object a lesson about appearances