Piblokto n. a culture-specific syndrome…

“Anybody heard of Piblokto?
It only happens to Eskimos –
just the girls.
One day, maybe
between dinner and foreplay,
they lose it.

Out of the blue
they burst onto the ice,
naked,
and cut loose,
howling like dogs
or stuck pigs.

So she’s stripped, right?
subzero and screaming–”
“but they won’t intervene;
it’s their way.”
[I read in some book I brought home,
it’s a culture-specific syndrome –

caused by long-standing
repression
and frustration.]
Elsewhere
an anthropologist writes
opening lines about open minds:

Culture-bound judgement is a negation
of liberty. And buried deep
in a footnote
– in some cultures, for example, Eskimo,
a woman can be bought, sold, or exchanged
at will.


16/06/00