Robert Hayden described the relationship between his father and his younger self in his poem "Those Winter Sundays." Robert Hayden grew up in a poor neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan Since his parents left him with family friends, he grew up with that family and did not know his real name until he was forty. Hayden also taught at a couple of universities and published several of his own collections of poems throughout his life; written retrospectively, this particular poem is about his "adoptive father" and the relationship between the two of them. Hayden, the narrator of the poem, regrets how he treated his father as he grew up hard work and efforts of his father to demonstrate his love, Hayden failed to appreciate and recognize this man's gestures Say no to plagiarism Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned". ? original essay Hayden's father strove to be the diligent caretaker that every family desires. In the poem, the speaker explains that "even on Sundays my father got up early" (1). of business every day. Even on a day of rest known throughout the world, he would wake up at dawn to make sure that everything was completed that was required for that day. His father also worked often, and it is safe to assume that this is also why he gets up quite early. Hayden explains that he gets up before the house is heated and "then with chapped hands that ached / from labor on weekdays they made / lit fires..." (3-5). Even after going through several days of fatigue and sore hands, the father awoke to light a fire, allowing the house to be warm before his family gave up sleep. It is evident, in these stark terms, that Hayden's father loved his family and showed them that love by providing. The family as a whole often did not thank the father for his efforts and care. In the poem, the speaker emphasizes how much their father does for them in the first stanza. He ended that verse with “No one ever thanked him” (5). This proves in literal terms that no one bothered to thank him. Their father worked hard to provide for them and loved them, but was never recognized for what he did. Hayden also described his situation on Sunday morning with “I would wake up and feel the cold chipping, breaking. / When the rooms were warm, he would call, / and I would slowly get up and dress” (6-8). He knew that his father got up early to heat the house for the family, but he didn't appreciate what was being done. It was written that he “continuously spoke to him with indifference,” even though his father treated Hayden specially (10). His father heated the house, shined his shoes, and worked hard all week, but Hayden or the rest of the family never acknowledged him. When he looks back, Hayden regrets the way he treated his father. She wrote this poem to acknowledge this and wishes she had acknowledged the love provided by her father. In the poem she writes that she always treated him badly and it is implied that she did not appreciate his motives. In the poem, regret emerges in Hayden's last words: “What did I know, what did I know / Of love's austere and solitary offices” (13-14). He chose those words to show that he wishes he could change his ignorance of the past. The word austere shows the brooding darkness his father may have felt from never being thanked. If Hayden could go back to being younger, he would treat his father as special and be grateful for what he had done for him and the rest of the family. Unfortunately, Hayden can't reverse the distant relationship he created with his father, but instead. 263.