Although cliche's may be overused, they typically are fairly accurate. The saying "life is too short" is applicable to everyone, and everyone should pay this saying the respect it deserves. In today's world, family is everything. Without family, the world can be a scary, lonely, and confusing place. Despite how rich or famous someone is, without family, they will never truly be happy. One's family can be their actual relatives, or any of the other wonderful people they meet along the way. Life is too short to not be happy, to not find a true passion, and most importantly, to not have an amazing family and to be able to tell them how much they are loved and appreciated. Too often these days, people's family members die without their loved ones ever having told them how they truly felt about them. If you ask anyone who has lost a loved one, the most common plea is asking to see them one more time, to thank them for everything, and to tell them how much they were loved. Knowing that this is simply not possible is one of the worst feelings in the world, and we are all guilty. Lucille Clifton in "Forgiving my Father" and Robert Hayden in "Those Winter Sundays" aim to communicate to readers the importance of telling your loved ones how much they are loved and appreciated, by developing the idea of unspoken love, ultimately revealing that it is never too late to set aside differences or forgive mistakes in order for both parties to find peace. 

Other than the traditional "I love you", there are many other ways in which this feeling can be communicated, through actions rather than words. In Hayden's poem, although the father and son do not have a close relationship, the father still conveys his love of his son through actions such as getting up early to warm the house and polishing his shoes. Even when most people are sleeping in and relaxing or going to church, "Sundays too [the] father got up early" and "with cracked hands that ached," made "banked fires blaze" (Hayden 1,3,5). Although the son was frequently "fearing the chronic angers of that house", or fearing his father, the father still did everything in his power to insure the son was taken care of properly (Hayden 9). Despite "no one ever [thanking] him," the father continued to care for his son to the best of his ability, as demonstrated by his actions, which signify his relentless love (Hayden 5). In Clifton's poem, although the father is not able to pay the bills, the daughter recognizes that this is not entirely the fathers fault. Even though the father was the "pocket that was going to open / and come up empty any Friday," she also realizes that he was "the only son of a needy father" (Clifton 12,17,18). The daughter says to her father "daddy daddy old lecher / old liar, "you gave her all you had" (Clifton 9,10,14). The daughter realizes that although her father was an "old pauper", her mother and her father were "each other's bad bargain, not mine" (Hayden 19,20). Although the daughter loved her mother and wished her father was "rich so [she] could take it all / and give the lady what she was due," she still loved her father simply because he was family. The daughters unspoken love for her father is demonstrated by her ability to love him and forgive him, despite his lack on success in providing for her and her mother. In Hayden's poem, the unspoken love was directed from the father towards the son, whereas in Clifton's it is directed from the daughter towards the father. 

No matter how many transgressions or indiscretions a loved one might make, it is never too late to set aside differences or forgive mistakes in order for both parties to find peace, and sometimes even happiness. In Hayden's poem, after his father's death, the son realizes that the father's actions all along were out of love. Although the father and son did not have the best relationship, the son understands that the father was not getting up early to warm the house or polishing his shoes for fun, it was because he loved him. In retrospect, the son regrets "speaking indifferently to him" (Hayden 10). The son wishes he could tell him how much he appreciated all that the father did for him, as demonstrated by him saying "what did I know, what did I know / of love's austere and lonely offices?" (Hayden 13-14). The offices, or tasks, performed by the father were lonely because he never received any gratitude in return, yet he still did everything he could to make life as easy as possible for the son, seven days a week. The poem's "spirit [is] of reconciliation" and the son's attitude towards his father is transformed from "indifference to guilt to admiration" (Biespiel). Looking back on his childhood, all the son wants it to be able to thank his father for the "endurance required of long-term love, of manual labor, and of the official fatherly role" (Biespiel). Unfortunately for the son, "there is no crossing over the years to rescue those 'austere offices' or thank the man who labored in 'the weekday weather'" (Gallagher). At the end of the poem, the son wishing to thank his father signifies his forgiveness of his mistakes, which will hopefully bring the son a little bit of peace in closure in his years to come. In Clifton's poem, after her father's death, the daughter asks herself "what am I doing here collecting?" (Clifton 21). The daughter realizes that although her father is poor and is a disappointment to her family, nothing she can do is going to change that. She realizes that her father "[lies] side by side in debtors' boxes / and no accounting will open them up" (Clifton 22-23). Although the daughter probably wishes her family had turned out differently, she is able to forgive her father for his unfortunate circumstances which helps her to find peace and move on with her life. 

Both of these poems serve as cautionary tales in that life is too short, and people should never take their loves ones for granted. As demonstrated by the son and daughter, there is nothing worse than losing your loved ones before you have the chance to resolve any issues or simply tell them how much you love and appreciate them. Although some people have a difficult time expressing their feelings, it is important to swallow your pride and clear the air, before it is too late. As scary as it is, you never know when your last conversation with someone might be, and it is important to make the most of it. Lastly, setting aside differences and forgiving mistakes often results in a sense of peace and closure, and maybe if your lucky, renewed happiness. 

