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.  “Forgiving my Father” as a lens for Hayden’s shows how simply 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. Explaining the happenings of a simple Sunday morning to his readers, Hayden seems to just be listing the activities the narrators father preforms in the morning. Yet, once the text is further dissected, the reader finds a deeper emotional level of guilt the narrator has women into his father’s morning itinerary.  In these types of poetry, it is easy to simply view the narrator as the protagonist given it is based on their childhood relationships and memories, 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 represent different aspects of how families face difficulties, and how just because a text may seem simple and concise, there is often a much greater depth behind it.

Clifton’s and Hayden’s poems contain many similar paternal relationship strains 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 difficulties 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 a saying such as “I wish you were rich so I could take it all” is clear way to show that the narrator of “Forgiving my Father” was not financial endued what she was owed and therefore struggling (Clifton, 525). In similarity with this, the narrator of “those Winter Sunday’s states, “with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday,” showing that although this narrators father is attempting to bring them wealth, it is not working (Hayden, 524). The comparison of these two quotes brings to light that although both families were fiscal struggling their fathers corresponded to this differently. This leads the reader to question how the families handle it differently, and this affects 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 family dynamic.

This being said, there are also obvious differences between the two short poems. 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).  Despite accepting blamer herself for the strain in their relationship, the narrator promotes that concept that her father did bother her and her mother great harm and therefore was not her problem to fix. 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 the narrator places the blame of a spoiled relationship on himself due to his inability to show appreciation for his father  and all that his father does for him. (Hayden, 524).

In close, these two texts show immense amounts of similarities and differences on a literal and figurative level. Through “Forgiving my Father” as a lens to more fully examine “Those Winter Sundays,” the readers are better to able to understand different dynamics in relationships and how just because text may seem to place blame on one character, once you dive deeper into examination, you may find an alternate scenario.
