Lucille Clifton’s “Forgiving my Father” and Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” are both short poems representing very different paternal relationships in similar financial settings. Clifton’s piece written in 1980, tells a simply worded story of a daughter’s efforts and frustrations regarding the relationship her and her father formally shared. This poem goes in depth talking about the pain felt and the blame placed on her father for not being there both emotionally and financially. Both in similarity and contrast to this, Hayden’s poem outlines the story of a boy who has not shown appreciation towards a hard working father to a poor family. Using “Forgiving my Father” as a lens text, it is easy to see how simple everyday stories can be more intricate than just what is seen on the surface.  This theme continues within “Those Winter Sundays” by showing yet another example of how what may seem normal to onlookers, has a deeper emotional meaning when more closely viewed. In these types of poetry, it is easy to simply view the narrator as the protagonist given it is based off their experience, as true in “Forgiving my Father,” however, in other narratives as the stanzas continue we see context which may present them in a different light, as true in “Those Winter Sundays.” Both of these poems present the concept of family difficulties within relationships, and how despite similar financial setting, the characters unearthed in the text may be complete opposites.

Clifton’s and Hayden’s poems contain many similar elements that allow comparisons. Both authors share difficulties in their relationships with their fathers. In “Forgiving my Father” the main character struggles to move past the differences she and her father have clearly faced, while in “Those Winter Sunday’s” the main character also struggles to show his father the appreciation he deserved. Using sayings such as “I wish you were rich so I could take it all” and “with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday,” it is clear the both families are struggling financially, however correspond to this differently (Clifton, 525), (Hayden, 524). This leads the reader to question how are the families handling it differently, and is this effecting the narrator’s perspective on the character. In turn, the comparison of these two narratives pushes on the concept that these very similar situations may have different outcomes due to slight differences in the personalities of the fathers presented to the reader.

This being said, there are also obvious differences the exist between the two short poems. While both scenarios depict very similar settings and family relationships, the dynamics between the two are greatly distinctive. In “Forgiving my Father,” it is easy to see that the narrators father has abandoned his family emotionally and financially. Using quotes such as “There is no more time for you. There will never be time enough daddy daddy old lecher old liar,” Clifton makes it clear that the strained relationship between these two characters has blame placed solely on the father (Clifton, 525). In great contrast to this, “Those Winter Sundays” tells a different story of the emotional restraint being provided by the main character. By stating, “speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well” the reader see that Hayden places the blame of a spoiled relationship on himself and his inability to show appreciation for his father (Hayden, 524).

In close, these two texts show and immense amount of similarities and differences on a literal and figurative level. Through using “Forgiving my Father” as a lens text to more fully examine “Those Winter Sundays,” the readers are better able to understand what certain context clues mean when implied to the paternal relationships and to shed light on the another in order to show some things that would have not have been visible had they examined the texts in separately.
