"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden [Family Quotes and Poem]

 

Those Winter Sundays

Sundays too my father got up early

And put his clothes on in the blue black cold,

Then with cracked hands that ached

from labor in the weekday weather made

banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

 

I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breking.

when the rooms were warm, he’d call,

and slowly I would rise and dress,

fearing the chronic angers of that house,

 

Speaking indifferently to him,

who had driven out the cold

and polished my good shoes as well.

What did I know, what did I know

of love’s austere and lonely offices?

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/5IgtMfErsOg

Who wrote the poem ""Those Winter Sundays"?

Robert Hayden (August 4, 1913 – February 25, 1980)

Robert Hayden was an American poet, essayist, and educator. He was the first African American Consultant of Poetry for the United States Congress (U.S. Poet Laureate) from 1976 to 1978. His works often demonstrated his interest in African American history.

 

"Those Winter Sundays" explanation

In the poem, the speaker recollects some memories of his father. His father used to wake up early on wintry Sundays “too” to light up the fire with his cracked hands for the comfort of his family, but no one ever thanked him for that. The speaker, perhaps as an adult, now understands his father’s struggle and regrets his ungrateful and indifferent attitude. The poem reminds us of the sacrifices our parents have made for us. The poem also displays somewhat darker undertone, for the tensions between the father and the son, created by misunderstanding and/or “chronic angers,” might not have been healed.