Published in the Spring 2021 issue of Relief Journal, "via negativa" is an exploration of The Grotto of the Redemption in northwest Iowa and the work of German artist Paul Dobberstein and poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

"The outer walls of the Grotto of the Redemption refract the afternoon light into a kaleidoscope of color. The air is bright and crisp, windy. I approach the nearest wall and graze my fingertips across a jagged array of lilac amethyst. I am unsure I believe in redemption, unsure I want to, but I step inside the first of the nine caverns and let the walls of stone encircle me. Each is a seamless collage of crystal. Bands of pale pink quartz wrap a circular dome inlaid with mounds of white stones like dollops of whipped cream hanging upside down, topped with an icing of turquoise and a delicate golden star. The intricacy of it all makes me dizzy, like I am a child spinning under the night sky, focusing on one star and trying not to lose her balance."