The Poetry Stash: 11Feb2024

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

Today’s poem is “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden from the collection, Collected Poems. The book is available for purchase here.

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack 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, breaking.
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?

Prompts:

1.	Begin with “I’d wake and hear…”
2.	Begin with “What did I know...?”
3.	Explore a childhood memory of a parent who often appeared angry or sad. Reflect on the memory as your child self, then reflect on it as your adult self. How do these reflections compare?
4.	Describe an early morning winter scene within your home.
5.	List the different types of love. Delve into a few with specific details and examples.

Thanks for reading PoetryStash Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support the Poetry Stash community.