They stepped beyond the frame of “he” and “she,”
where language tried to lock the soul in place,
and moved instead in forms that could not be
reduced to one permitted human case.
The towns demanded answers they could keep,
a stable word to fasten to the breath,
but what they met was neither shallow nor deep
in the terms they used to sort the living and the death.
They wore no title that could settle cleanly,
no social script to make the body plain;
they lived where identity exists between the
expected categories minds maintain.
And still they spoke, not as a contradiction,
but as a presence refusing to divide;
as if the self resists the strict inscription
of all the names it’s told it must abide.
-
Author:
Matthew R. Callies (
Offline) - Published: June 2nd, 2026 08:35
- Comment from author about the poem: Public Universal Friend was the chosen name of an 18th century American preacher who, though born female, identified as genderless - neither male nor female. For more context visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Universal_Friend
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 11
- Users favorite of this poem: Matthew J. Bays, Tristan Robert Lange
- In collections: Footnotes to History, The Continuance of Us.
Offline)
Comments3
Gender, what seems a black and white issue of either or is not always so. This poem gives a historical reference to such. Nicely done
Very well written! I love your rhyming structure and the way you speak of the struggle of gender in our world, especially when linking it to history. Recently been going through a lot of self discovery regarding this topic, so it really speaks to me
Matthew, wow. Extremely moving. I initially read this as a contemporary reflection on identity, but your note sent me down a fascinating rabbit hole. I had never heard of the Public Universal Friend before. What I appreciate is that the poem doesn't simply recount history...it captures the tension between a society demanding categories and a person refusing to be confined by them. That gave the piece even more resonance for me. Thank you for introducing me to both the poem and the history behind it, and for your focus this month. Powerful write, my friend. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
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