Totem Offering

Sprouted here

Beneath the trees

Weathered wooden Totem

Perches of stillness,

Yet breathes

in & out of island forest

Holding stories & prayers

Seahawk topper

Awaits supreme

About to take flight

Beaver carves center

Offering vertical strength

Unknown to me creature

Tending roots beneath

Sprouted here

Beneath the trees

Something I did not see

Not yesterday, nor before

Adorning Totem’s crown

A leather envelope

Tied up with strings

Holding stories & prayers

in & out of the island forest

Breathing here with me

On perches of stillness

Written sacred words—

“For Bill”

Whomever loves Bill;

The stranger—here before me

Loves with intention

Loves with connection

Loves with breathing

in & out of the island forest

Holding stories & prayers

With me here now

Sprouted beneath the trees

With perches of stillness

in my heart—

May I honor all the stories & prayers to come before me,

The known&unknown happy & sad events hallowing the ground before me,

May I hold in thanksgiving for all of the pilgrims & indigenous stories & prayers and their legacies in me that I may stand here now, to breathe love in and out of the forest🙏