The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Hayden, Robert. "Those Winter Sundays.” A Ballad of Remembrance (Paul Breman, 1962).

Note that all parenthetical citations refer to the line number from which the quotation is taken.

"Those Winter Sundays" is a modern sonnet that explores themes of paternal love, sacrifice, gratitude and regret. Widely considered a critically acclaimed masterpiece, the poem is among Hayden's most famous and anthologized works. Hayden writes from personal experience of childhood hardship in Detroit's Paradise Valley neighborhood. When his birth parents could no longer afford to raise him, he was passed on to foster parents, and Hayden later transposed his various memories into art. Overall, he is known for his complex engagement with Black history and identity, though he preferred to be labeled as an "American poet" rather than solely as a "Black poet."

In "Those Winter Sundays," the speaker's father makes a fire each week to warm the household despite the lack of recognition and gratitude from other family members. The speaker recalls cold winters as well as the emotional conflicts within the family. The poem's imagery and sounds convey the fraught atmosphere. However, the adult speaker realizes that love can be expressed through duty, sacrifice, and endurance.