there are no beautiful surfaces without a terrible depth, nicha. to commit to a place is to commit to the shadow side of our own home ground. sometimes we see it. sometimes we don't. but when we do we must speak. on december 28, 2016, barack obama established a national monument protecting 1.3 million acres of fragile desert lands. he heard the voices of the navajo e. the hoppe, the mountain yute, the zuni nations. he heard them. these lands are sacred. where their prayers are spoken. where their ancestors are buried. where flair ceremonies are performed. it was a handshake across history. a renewal, a commitment, of trust. less than a year later, donald trump by executive soared eviscerated bears ears national monument. by 85% suspect cut grand staircase esclante in half. those sacred lands are now open for business to oil and gas development, to coal mining, to uranium mining. a boone to the fossil fuel industry. in the midst of the climate crisis. this is my home. what is beauty, if not stillness? what is stillness if not sight? what is sight if