Being in debt is not always a monetary issue. In Lucille Clifton’s “forgiving my father,” the narrator is pouring out all of her frustration that she has had with her father over the years. She claims that she is in debt because her father has yet to repay her, but how she sends this message to the reader can be taken in two different ways. The audience could take the text literally and interpret it as the father owing her and her mother a large amount of money, or they could interpret it as him never being the father figure to the narrator and a good, loyal husband to her mother. Either way, she uses a negative and unrelenting tone throughout that shows how she feels about the lack of responsibility he has shown towards her and her family. Throughout “forgiving my father,” Clifton expresses her frustration and impatience towards her father by telling the audience over and over that payday has come, but no payment will be made. The fact of whether this idea is meant to be taken literally or figuratively is not determined, but the reader can tell by the tone being used that the piece is telling a more symbolic, deeper story.

Clifton uses a very demanding and unforgiving tone throughout the piece and reiterates the idea that it is payday and that her father is still coming up empty. For example, in the first stanza of the poem, the narrator says “like a ghost, asking for more time / but today is payday, payday old man.” (Clifton, lines 4-5) In this particular instance, she uses a somewhat relentless tone because she is saying that no matter how many times he comes asking for more time to pay her back, she has none to give. This, along with other points in the poem, could be taken as being a symbol of her telling her father that she needs him to act as a father figure rather than leaving her on her own. She could be telling him that he has yet to be there for her and she is tired of being neglected. His absence throughout her life left her emotionally distraught and helpless, and the fact that his actions will never change or be reversed is a crushing blow to her.

Of all the points from beginning to end in this piece where the narrator’s tone towards her father suggest that this poem is not meant to be comprehended from a literal view, some display this idea more egregiously than others. For example, at the very end, Clifton writes, “daddy old pauper old prisoner, old dead man / what am i doing here collecting? / you lie side by side in debtors’ boxes / and no accounting will open them up.” (Lines 20-23) The tone used in these lines still displays her overwhelming and built-up frustration, but refer to “you lie side by side in debtors’ boxes / and no accounting will open them up,” and it also introduces a feeling of exhaustion. When analyzed from a symbolic standpoint, the reader can conclude that she had been waiting for her father to start acting like a father to her for years on end and still desires to have that paternal figure, but she knows that the person who could have filled that role never will and is gone. 

As the poem gradually comes to a close, frustration and impatience are not the only two traits of the tone used by the author. Later on into the progression of the story, a sense of acceptance comes into play. In the poem, Clifton writes, “you gave her all you had / which was nothing. you have already given her / all you had. / you are the pocket that was going to open / and come up empty any friday.” (Lines 14-18) This particular passage can be taken literally and be saying that her father had no money to give and will not come up with any to give to her and her mother, but it could also be seen from a symbolic standpoint by saying that he gave their family and left her mother with nothing instead of offering support and care. The reader can also take from it that she came to the realization that no matter how much time goes by, her father’s ways will never change and he will not provide any help for her. Because she realizes this, she comes to accept the fact she will not be receiving any help from him and must continue to fend for herself. She does not forgive him for what he did, or more fitting, what he did not do, but she accepts the situation as it stands. 

Whether or not the true meaning and message of this work comes from what is written on the page or what lies beneath the surface is left up to the reader, but it seems that a true understanding of the poem comes from what is hidden behind the ink. Clifton releases the frustration that has built up over time due to the fact that her father refuses to be the kind of father she has needed to have in her life, and her frustration cools off and leads to acceptance. This poem could be comprehended using what is actually written on the page, but evidence in some passages suggests that the real meaning is not shown in the ink on the page. She is emotionally in debt because her father continuously comes up empty on payday, so she comes to accept this reality, but still cannot find a reason to forgive.
