5 Poems for Enneagram Twos
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Today, as we continue to analyze poetry through an Enneagram lens, it is time to spotlight poetic works that get to the heart of our Enneagram Two friends. Twos are known as the Helpers. They care deeply about the people around them and are the first people to drop what they are doing to help a friend or family member in need. Relationships are deeply important to Twos, and they strive to nurture them through deep connection and service.
When Twos are functioning healthily, they are abundantly kind and compassionate. However, their desire to feel loved can make them slip into people-pleasing mode. They may sometimes try to secure love from others through their works of service. This core yearning for love is what makes Twos so empathetic, as they shower love and care on those around them.
1. Becca Lee
“It isn’t always graceful,
this learning to love,
this healing,
this looking in the mirror and smiling.”
Type Twos are deeply driven by emotional connection, but there is sometimes a disconnect with their own emotions as they strive to be loved by others. It is so important for Twos to take the time to reflect on their own hearts and healing, and to offer themselves love as freely as they offer it to their loved ones. Self-love doesn’t always come naturally to Twos, but it is an important practice to keep them connected to their own hearts as they long to serve the hearts of the people around them. It will give them a good foundation that will help them fight the urge to sacrifice themselves in service to another’s expectations.
2. Beau Taplin
“Self-love is an ocean and your heart
is a vessel. Make it full and any
excess will spill over into the lives
of the people you hold dear, but you
must come first.”
This piece is a beautiful reminder for Twos that self-love is a vital practice while caring for others. Twos will do whatever it takes to serve the people they love, but this can leave them feeling drained and overwhelmed if they don’t take a moment for their own well-being, mentally and emotionally. Self-care is an act of self-love that will help Twos reflect and care for themselves as they care for others. This reminder to recharge will help keep Twos in their healthiest flow, without becoming overwhelmed and exhausted.
3. Upile Chisala
“You do yourself and those who could love you a
disservice when you make yourself smaller, when
you eat your words or use less of your light.”
Upile Chisala’s poem packs a profound punch and addresses a core vulnerability of the Type Two personality: people-pleasing. Chisala’s words are an encouraging reminder that we don’t need to shrink down in order for others to feel more important. We don’t need to hide our light, our feelings, or our passions to make someone else more comfortable. Serving and caring for others does not mean we need to fulfill their expectation of who we are. Twos deserve the opportunity to flourish in their own right, shining their individual light into the spaces they inhabit. This can be a scary concept for a Two, but it is also a liberating one.
4. Nayyirah Waheed
“if someone
does not want me
it is not the end of the world.
but
if i do not want me,
the world is nothing but endings.”
The biggest fear for a Type 2 is feeling like they aren’t loved and appreciated. They will sometimes try to earn love and prove their worth through service or adapt emotionally to the wants and needs of others. Waheed’s poem addresses this fear head-on and is such an important message for our Type Twos: we can’t lose ourselves in service to other people’s perceptions of us. That will end in heartbreak. But if we can strengthen our hearts with self-love and serve others from that foundation, we have so much more potential to grow meaningful and lasting relationships.
5. Emily Dickinson
“If I can stop one heart
from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.”
This classic poem gets to the heart of Type Twos so beautifully and reminds them that their pursuit to help others matters. It’s not about helping a specific number of people or reaching a milestone of achievement. It’s not about earning love through service, but about letting your heart overflow love into your days. Your natural tendency to love, to care, and to help others will ripple into the lives of others. Don’t over-stress about production or performance. If you change one life, it matters. One smile and one kind word matters. A lifetime of little moments adds up. And at the end of the day, if you make a difference for one person or one hundred people, it will be a life well-lived.
