I have been here, in Suquamish, for six months.
I have waited six months for this day.
But that’s not the whole story…
Before this, I waited ten years.
Ten years ago, Octopus Spirit first called my name.
There in the Sonoran Desert,
She had me hauling rocks to build her a shrine…
A medicine wheel, surrounded by sand and cactus.

This morning, She woke me with the knowing
that the day had finally come.
And so I began my first Octopus Woman.
Now we are here, at Old Man House Beach,
to make a special offering: eight little seaweed rolls
tied with perfect little knots into precious little bundles.
I cast them out into the sea,
along with my love and gratitude
and speak of my undying devotion…

She says, in return…

“I love you;
with all my hearts,
and all my arms.”