Forgiveness and a Peaceful Heart

How do I forgive my father? Perhaps it happens in the quiet solitude of a dream. Do I forgive him for the times he was absent, too often, or even forever, when I was just a child? Maybe it's for the times his anger took me by surprise, or for the unsettling calm when anger was nowhere to be found.

Do I forgive him for choosing to marry, or not to marry my mother? Or for deciding to sever their union, or for letting it persist in its imperfect state? And should I absolve him for his extremes of affection or indifference? Should I pardon him for his insistence, or his detachment? For closing doors or for communicating through barriers?

For his silence, or for his incessant chatter? Do I forgive him now, in my maturity, or in his? Or in his passing, uttering it to him or keeping it within me. If I forgive my father, what remains? Perhaps, just perhaps, a heart at peace.

Copyright ? Beatriz Esmer