"Those Winter Sundays," a poem written by Robert Hayden speaks directly to the heart. This is a poem about a son who took his father for granted. Through all of his childhood years in life, he never appreciated the small things his father did for him and his family. I think many people can relate to this poem one way or the other because most children have a tendency to take parents for granted. This poem speaks specifically of a father and son; conversely, I believe that this poem could be written about any kind of gender. Hayden tells of incidents that are similar to mine in which both of us took our father for granted and it took only age and maturity to apprehend how much we appreciate them.
             When reading this poem, a common asked question is what does Hayden really mean when he titles his poem, "Those Winter Sundays?" Sunday is generally regarded as a day of rest to everyone and is also respected as a holy day. However, for Robert Hayden's father, this just meant another work day and getting up early. Hayden creates this image when he writes, "Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blue black cold." Hayden could recall his dad starting his day early in the morning, "with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made baked fires blaze." The father was always doing the extra work, yet, "No one ever thanked him." Hayden remembers the long winters by saying, "I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking." Hayden remembers being warm in his bed and fearing to get out: "When the rooms were warm, he'd call and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house." Hayden recalls "speaking indifferently to him," fearing he might say the wrong thing to cause an argument. At the same time, Hayden also thinks that this is the man "who had dr
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