chiselled in stone

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mat james
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Joined: Sat May 27, 2006 8:06 am
Location: Australia

chiselled in stone

Post by mat james »

Chiselled in Stone
(An opal miner’s 10 commandments)

Never over-value the opinions of other men
Listen to all men
Know the Way of the Wires
Embrace mistakes
Nourish hope
Work the odds (1/33)
Value efficiency
Know your goals
Take manageable risks
Enjoy the process.

Matbbgj
Last edited by mat james on Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
Steven
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Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 12:32 am

Re: chisseled in stone

Post by Steven »

Brother Mat,

Nice wisdom in the poem. And, there's a flexibillity that's implicit in abiding to those commandments that's a nice contrast to the
"Stone" in the title. Never been in an opal mine, only a coal mine once and coal strip-mining areas numerous times. Of course,
those commandments are applicable for all miners, professional or not. :D There's a classic song about mining and beyond
that comes to mind: "Dark As A Dungeon." Not saying it's relevant to your poem, but there's a similarity in that both speak of
mining, yet also, are more than that.
imaginary friend
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Location: Vancouver, Canada

Re: chisseled in stone

Post by imaginary friend »

I like your commandments Mat – and not just for opal miners.

What is the 'Way of the Wires'?

I don't know anything about opal mining; I will check wikipedia. I do think opals are exquisitely beautiful and complex. I used to believe that opals were sometimes called 'moonstones' – a very Mat sounding name – but I've since found out that moonstones are a different, less precious stone.
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mat james
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Re: chiselled in stone

Post by mat james »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TEAg49F ... re=related
I love it brother Steve!
Thanks,

imaginary friend; "the wires" are used for "divining". Some people use green twigs, generally forked in a "Y" shape. I use any old or new piece of wire I stumble on, steel, copper, bronze...it doesn't seem to matter, they always "work"/react in a magnetic sort of way. They pick up what we call "slips" and faults under the ground, likely places where opal may be found. Of course many people are non-believers with regard to what I term "the way of the wires".
Of course, I can't help myself...I'm a believer!
Farmers use them to divine for water (dousing) in different regions of the world.
Old time opal miners use them to search for "ground" where the opal may be hiding-out, like a lost refugee in its underground, "dark night" (St. Juan de la Cruz).
Perhaps you can intuit the (symbolic) allure of "the divining wires" for this poet? 8)

Mat.
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
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