Poems: “Those Winter Sundays” and “My Papa's Waltz”

Poems: “Those Winter Sundays” and “My Papa's Waltz”

       Most children grow up not realizing how much their parents love them and what their parents do for them. “Those Winter Sundays”, by Robert Hayden, and “My Papa's Waltz”, by Theodore Roethke, are both poems about a child and their father. The poems describe the father's feelings for his child and vice versa. While these poems are similar in topic, the mood of the poems and theme contrast greatly.

       “Those Winter Sundays” is a poem about a child and his/her father, and how the father would put himself past his wishes and do things for his family so they would be comfortable. For example, the first stanza states that “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.” The family of this man took the discreet chores he did for granted, and never truly appreciated his efforts to make them happy. Later, the child looks back at his/her memories with regret and states, “What did I know, what did I know/ of love's austere and lonely offices?” The child expresses the wish to go back and thank his/her father for everything he's done through these lines, though possibly cannot for unknown reasons. This shows parents love their children, yet show this love in different ways, through different actions and words. The child had not realized, until he/she was a grown adult, that his/her father's silent actions were the ways he showed his love.

       “My Papa's Waltz” is a poem about a small boy playing with his presumably tipsy father. The word choice of the poem shows the child's love for his father, especially the last two lines: “Then waltzed me off to bed/ Still clinging to your shirt.” The bond between father and child appears strong, and they have much affection for one another, also shown in these lines, “We romped until the pans/ Slid from the kitchen shelf;” When father and son romp about, they play lively, and playing around in such a matter shows great love and affection. The poem also suggests that the father had been working very hard, through the lines “...battered on one knuckle;” and “With a palm caked hard by dirt.”; and most likely went to get a drink, due to the lines, “The whiskey on your breath/ could make a small boy dizzy;”. After this, the most reasonable answer would be that the father wanted to play with his son after a hard day's work and a drink. This overall conclusion shows that, even though the father had a tiring day , he was still ready and able to happily play with his son. This further symbolizes his bond with his son.

        Although these poems have very different perspectives on how children interact with their fathers, they both show the strength of the bond between parent and child, whether the child was aware of it or not. Love is a bond that cannot be broken, and these poems show that bond. Children should treasure the moments they have with their families; they are precious, and they might not get a second chance to have those moments again, especially as an adult.