Queerness is the experience of being different from societal norms and expectations, especially when it comes to gender identity or sexual orientation. This difference can bring about feelings of isolation, stigma, and pain that are difficult to describe through traditional language.
Many people have found solace in religious poetry, which offers a unique way of exploring the ineffable intersection between queerness, pain, and holiness. Through metaphor and imagery, poets such as Walt Whitman, Adrienne Rich, and Eve Ensler have created works that express the depth and complexity of these experiences in powerful ways. In this essay, I will explore how queerness, pain, and holiness intersect in religious poetry and what makes this mode of expression so compelling for those who seek to understand their own identities and struggles.
The Language of Queerness
The term "queer" has been used historically to denote anything that does not fit within the established social order. This includes people who identify as LGBTQ+, but also anyone who feels out of place in their society or community. For many, this sense of otherness is intensified by cultural taboos around sex and sexuality. Religious texts often reinforce these taboos by promoting strict heteronormativity and condemning non-traditional sexual practices. Yet some poets have found ways to use religion to reclaim their queer identities and experiences.
Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself," for example, celebrates his own sexuality and masculinity while challenging conventional ideas about God and spirituality. In one passage, he writes:
I am large, I contain multitudes.
I am antique and modern, old and new,
Passing stranger, yet familiar.
Born here of parents born here from parents the same,
And yet a stranger to my parents,
Feeling less at home to them, and less like one of them,
Any more than you are sure you suppose it is night farther westward and nearer east.
In me the unborn becoming the seas, the prairies,
The huge fauna, shallow marshes,
And the thick woods where panthers roam.
The mystic lover good for always justifying me.
Yet all is justify'd, the last is justify'd by all.
By invoking images of nature and sex, Whitman creates a language that transcends societal norms and speaks directly to the experience of queerness. He rejects binary thinking and embraces the complexity of human desire, which he sees as an integral part of life itself. By doing so, he affirms the validity of his identity and offers readers a vision of holiness that is expansive and inclusive.
The Language of Pain
Unfortunately, not all religious poetry on this topic focuses on empowerment or liberation. Many poets have used their art to express the pain they feel as queer individuals in a society that marginalizes them. Adrienne Rich's poem "Living in Sin" captures this sense of alienation and isolation with vivid imagery:
We are two women alone in a house made of glass,
Two women who cannot speak each other's names.
We know our separate rooms are built from the same stone,
That we live on a ledge above a sea no longer blue.
We look at one another through walls we have been taught
To believe can never be broken down.
We move like shadows across the floorboards,
Touching only when no one is looking.
At night we climb into beds where we touch briefly,
Our fingers entwine like roots searching for water.
But there is no earth beneath us and no sky above—
Only this room made of light and air and silence.
In this poem, Rich describes the difficulty of being open about her sexuality and the loneliness she feels as a result. She compares herself and her partner to prisoners trapped inside their own home, unable to connect deeply because of fear and shame. This language of imprisonment is common among queer people who feel pressured to hide their true selves out of fear of judgment or violence.
The Language of Holiness
Despite these challenges, many religious poets find ways to affirm the holiness of queerness. Eve Ensler's poem "The Body of the World," for example, explores the intersection between sex, spirituality, and healing. In it, she writes:
I want my body to become an altar for all those who have suffered.
I want my skin to be a shroud for those who cannot see themselves in daylight
Or sunrise.
I want my breasts to be altars for women with no breasts.
I want my cunt to be an altar for those who worship cunts.
I want my heart to be an altar for those without hope.
I want my belly to hold all the lost children of war.
I want my feet to walk over the bodies of the dead so that they may know
Their lives mattered.
I want my lips to speak every word ever whispered
By any living creature.
I want my hands to be altars for those who have not touched their own bodies.
I want my eyes to cry tears for all those who weep.
I want my
How can religious poetry express the ineffable intersections of queerness, pain, and holiness?
Religious poetry can be used to explore and express the relationship between queerness, pain, and holiness through its ability to evoke powerful emotions and experiences that are difficult to articulate with words alone. By utilizing symbolism, imagery, and metaphor, poets can create a space for readers to reflect on their own spiritual journeys and personal experiences, including those related to sexuality and identity.