Forgiving Our FathersHow do we forgive our fathers?
Maybe in a dream.
Do we forgive our fathers for leavin’ us too often
Or forever when we were little?
Maybe for scarin’ us with unexpected rage?
Or makin’ us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage at all?
Do we forgive our fathers for marryin’ or not marryin’ our mothers?
For divorcin’ or not divorcin’ our mothers?
And shall we forgive them for their excess of warmth or coldness?
Shall we forgive them for pushin’ or leanin’?
For shuttin’ doors?
For speakin’ through walls or never being silent?
Do we forgive our fathers in our age or in theirs?
Or in their deaths, sayin’ it to them?
Or not sayin’ it?
If we forgive our fathers, what is left?
For the June meeting of our movie group, four of my friends and I watched the film Smoke Signals. The setting of the movie is the Coeur D’Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, Idaho. But as Karlene pointed out, “It was not so much a story about reservation life as it was a story about healing and reconciliation with your father.”
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06-16-2007 |
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