Butterfly Man Tells a Story
… near butterfly mountain
lived a medicine person
… from the mountain
… i come to know myself
he told me
… from the mountain
… my name was given to me
… butterfly man
… is how i am known
… some men
… laugh at my name
… but that doesn’t bother me
… … my grandmother told me
… … never laugh at others
… … because the future is unknown
… … queer people are sacred
… … we must always remember
by Manny Loley
from The Poetry Foundation
Translated by the author from the Navajo