Que Razón Tenias Papá

How right you were, Dad,
When you told me that at my age
I wasn't ready to control my life,
That I was too young,
That I should wait a little longer
And then you would help me become independent.
And yet... I preferred not to listen to you...
I left you with the words on your lips,
And I left the house,
Thinking I was going to conquer the world slice by slice

You repeated over and over that you and my mom only wanted the best for me,
And that your scolding was not out of lack of love...
You tried to explain that understanding
Was not always agreeing with me;
But, despite that,
Many times you chose to give in and stay silent;
With that conciliatory attitude you adopted,
Just so I wouldn't fulfill my constant threats,
While I accused you of being the worst parents.

How right you were, Dad,
When you approached me,
And begged me to live according to my age,
Because youth is like a sigh of the soul,
And when we realize it,
The years have the upper hand;
You begged me not to drop out of school
Because much of my future would depend on it;
'Don't make the same mistake I did, son,'
You told me on that occasion,
And yet my response was:
'What do you know about it?
It's just that you're already old...
I don't know how you don't get tired of lecturing me'...
That's why I only made it to high school...

I remember my mother lovingly sitting me on her lap,
And talking to me about women,
Explaining that a relationship goes beyond physical attraction
And passion;
She told me how they met and how you won her over,
About how to love children,
Respect for the wife,
And the affection with which she should be treated,
And you see, Dad,
I barely turned legal age and had to get married,
Due to that lack of responsibility...

How right you were, Dad,
That before I left home,
You tried to stop me,
And with tears in your eyes you clarified:
'Someday you will also be a father,
And you will understand me, son,'
And in return I looked you straight in the eyes and said:
'I will be a good father,
I won't bother my children so much,
I will let them be who they want to be,
And be happy,'
And in a more arrogant tone I repeated:
'I will be better than you.'
You advised me that, no matter what happened,
No matter how I lived, never to humiliate myself in front of others,
Because dignity is not for sale, it is not lost,
And even freedom has its limits,
And as soon as I felt free,
I took the opportunity to get drunk with my friends until I passed out,
And woke up lying on a street, dirty, smelly;
I dared to beg for alms
And out of desperation it was easy for me to steal,
Although you warned me that my enemy was not at home,
But in the streets,
Disguised as false friends,
Absurd pleasures and tainted money...

How right you were, Dad,
When you warned me that if I left home,
My mother would die of sorrow and sadness,
And what did I do... I mocked you,
I clarified that if that happened it would be your fault,
For the strict life you gave us,
For the demands and for your concept of discipline and responsibility,
Because when you came home you made my mother cry with your ridiculous gifts,
How long it took me to understand that those tears,
Were of joy, not of pain or sadness...

One day, you took me in your arms and whispered very softly in my ear
Those things that I still keep in my heart:
'I wish you never grew up, my son,
I wish you always remained my little one and I continued to be your hero for life,
Imagine, that you will always be 6 years old,'
But you see, Dad,
Today I regret all those words against you,
Of my actions that hurt you so much,
Of so many nights that kept you and my mother awake because I didn't come home from the party,
Of the poorly concocted lies I made up just to avoid listening to your wise advice,
Of remembering how you humiliated yourself several times in front of me,
Just so I could have that false sense of reason;
Of trampling your dignity with my shouts and complaints,
And hundreds and hundreds of reproaches against that unconditional love...

Look at me now, Dad,
Sitting in a hospital room,
Full of anguish,
Waiting for news about my son's health,
That... I was going to raise...
Better than you raised me,
Yes... he also felt grown up,
Despite my advice he decided not to listen to me and,
Make his own life as I did mine,
I ask God to help me,
And you, my great hero as always,
I hope you have forgiven me... everything...
It took me a long time, pain, and suffering,
But after so many years,
I finally understood that I loved you, Dad,
More than I thought...
How right you were, Dad...