What We Teach The Children
By: Tenna Perry
“He’s got the whole world in his hand”
Well I must have fallen out!
“If his eye is on the sparrow”
He must have overlooked me
“Jesus loves the little children”
What was I, the redheaded stepchild?
“Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep”
Actually the nighttime demons
Took it years ago
“Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear”
Not grace, but footsteps that I would hear
And the dark, moving shadows
Of feet under my door
“Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come”
Now THAT one I agree with
“Jesus loves me this I know”
Where was he when I was taught how to blow?
Or as I watched my best friend
Beaten to her bloody death
“On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame”
It wasn’t a cross that I saw
Each time he came
‘Forgive me Father for I have sinned”
Actually it was Father who sinned
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While this poem may anger many Christian believers, it was written during a time of great anger when I questioned the very existence of a higher being. So much of my abuse was done in the name of what my parents called God, I had, and still do have a great deal of anger and skepticism concerning this all-knowing, all-powerful being.
It is my belief that there are many survivors out there who not only have questions regarding their beliefs, but also hold on to a great deal of anger towards one who didn’t step in. One who “allows” the abuse and murder of children to go on every day of every year. These survivors are the ones this poem was written for. Those who have wondered if they were the only ones to feel such rage and who have often been told they were doomed to burn in hell for having such feelings.
I have no answers for those whose faith is shaky. Each of us must find our own spiritual healing by whatever path we choose and remember that the path we choose may not be the same path someone else may choose.
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