Those Winter Sundays

"Those Winter Sundays"
Robert Hayden

This poem by Robert Hayden centers about the relationship between a child and his or her father, presumably reflective of the relationship that existed between the author and his father throughout his youth.

The first line of the poem, "Sundays too my father got up early," shows the dedication and hard work that the father executes in his life (Hayden, 781). Sundays are traditionally a day of rest and relaxation, but the father still rises early in order to provide for the well being of his family. The same stanza closes with the phrase "No one ever thanked him," (Hayden, 781). Closing this section of this phrase illustrates the reflective nature of the poem; although the speaker may not have appreciated his father as a young child, but now recognizes this lack of appreciation as an adult.

The rhetorical question at the end of the poem also helps to illustrate the poem's reflective nature. The speaker tells of his lack of knowledge regarding the relationship as a child, and implies that he now knows better as he has matured and grown wiser.