Niizh manidoowag
is the Ojibwemowin phrase
from which the term
“Two Spirit” is derived.
I once asked my mom
how to pronounce niizh manidoowag.
She said, “That means ‘friends with ghosts.’
Why would you be friends with ghosts?”
I said that oftentimes
they are more reliable
than people.
This one time I asked my mom
how to say niizh manidoowag.
She said, “That means ‘friends with ghosts.’
Why would you be friends with ghosts?”
Because they have the best jokes, I quip.
A while back, I asked my mom
how to say niizh manidoowag.
She said, “That means ‘friends with ghosts.’
Why would you be friends with ghosts?”
And I tell her
who wouldn’t want
to divorce themselves
from the living, the present
and be lost to time
forever.
But I wonder
when my mom passes on,
would she want
to be friends
with
me.
~~ 'Friends with Ghosts' by Tripp J. Crouse from 'The Starry Field'