Poem: "The Power of Two"
This poem came out of the April 1, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.
The Power of Two
In Lakota culture,
the winkte is one
who has the power of two:
male spirit and female spirit
contained in one body.
This makes for a powerful shaman.
The leaders of the people,
the great chiefs, the mighty warriors,
they go to get a winkte name
through which they can share
some of that dual nature.
Black Elk had one of those
secret names, power names.
They are wakan -- sacred things --
taken from smoke and reflection
to become a focus for visions.
So Black Elk saw,
and spoke of what he saw,
for the good of the people;
and the winkte was there
to listen to the dreams
and see two ways
where they might be headed.
If a man is only a man,
if he has no respect for women's wisdom
and will not abide the winkte
but concerns himself always
with matters of might,
then he is not strong but weak;
he is half what he could be.
It is the strongest, bravest men
who go to get a winkte name,
who learn to look past the edge of the world.
It is this which gave Black Elk
the power to speak what he spoke.
* * *
Notes:
In Native American culture, two-spirit has become an umbrella term for people who blur the boundaries of sex and gender. Each tribe has its own customs and often a word in their native language that has more specific connotations. The Lakota term winkte describes men who take the social role of a woman and/or who desire male sexual partners. They are considered holy people. This page has a couple of articles about two-spirit people including their historic and contemporary roles in tribal life.