This piece is a trauma poem written to my best friend. Her name is Mary, and I asked her once if people just sang the song, “Mary, Did You Know,” at her during the Christmas season. I remember getting an eye roll emoji in our chat and her telling me that I had no idea.
In another conversation with Mary, I opened up about the process of trying to heal some of the trauma from my past through writing poetry. What came out of that conversation was the poem posted below, written to the tune of, “Mary, Did You Know,” as a poetic letter to my best friend. She is a faithful and amazing woman of God, so who better I thought, to explore the question of God’s role in my childhood sexual abuse.
Regardless if you’re a believer or not, dear Reader, I hope you what you take away from this poem is a larger theme of trying to understand something that is incomprehensible. This piece is less about God and more about me coming to terms with my experience. I am forever thankful to my best friend for being a sounding board and letting me use the tune of a song that annoys her every Christmas. Now THAT’S a true friend! :)