The Desert Light September/October 2018 | Page 7

Silhouette, Lava Tube In the lava tube, Burkhart uses himself as a model (above). A silhouette in the dust of the cave, he appears on the stage as a great conductor. Stoic and in command. An orator about to speak. Sunlight pours in from above rapping his head and leaving an angelic shadow, halo and all, on the cave floor. The dramatic personified, this could be a subway terminal or an off-Broadway play. The religious overtones make the dimly lighted cave walls feel as though there is an audience just outside our field of view, waiting in the dark for his first words or command. Sept/Oct 2018 | THE DESERT LIGHT 7