Those Winter Sundays
--by Robert Hayden
Sundays too my father got up early
And put his clothes on in the blueback cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.
I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?
Like it? Visit my favorite poetry professor, Banjo52. Didn't like it? Visit for the discussion. Didn't like the discussion? Visit for the bird photos. Didn't like the birds?
There's always Argerich.
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30 comments:
Mmmmm. Nice one.
I knew who you were channeling right away. B52 knows just how to move us with his poetry choices. Thanks for the reminder.
Ahhhhh....thank you....I needed some peaceful beauty to look at after that last post craziness....
There's always Cliburn.
GG
Sorry if it seemed I doubted anyone, but I went right to Argerich. Can't help it, Swede turned me on to her.
Like it.
I majored in poetry, which is why I avoid dissecting it now. Nothing personal. Or rather, maybe so.
She's magnificent, isn't she Bandit? Even though the conductor looks just like John Cleese.
Love these. Can you put them on Facebook so we can share them?
WV: scones. scones.
Weren't the mountains lovely all draped in white today? The tops were also covered by a cloth of cloud by 10 am, but it was still a great day to be in SoCal. Love the poem. Reminds me of living in a much colder climate.
The Tchaikovsky piece is new to me, stunning, thanks!
Oh, you know I love these shots! As for Martha, she's Little Bit's favorite, don't you love it?
Wow. Thanks for the plug! Paula, too. And for the Russian T-guy. I think I have it on CD and will look around.
Your photos are surreal. I was there in winter about three lifetimes ago, but I don't remember a sight like that.
8 inches of snow here in Michigan, no palm trees.
Petrea, here was my line to students: who APPRECIATES (and of course, understands) a car more, the guy/gal who car tear it apart and put it back together, FIXED, on the one hand, or me talking goo goo to the engine, petting to the engine, praying to the engine, trying to get it run.
That argument has to be horse manure, but I can't find the flaw in it, and neither could the students. Of course, I'm all too aware that a lot of teachers just tear apart the engine and then walk away . . . .
Laurie, I'm uber-impressed w/Little Bit, as always. And doesn't Martha have the most beautiful hands you've ever seen?
Banjo, hah! And sometimes after they put it back together, they find they have a bunch of spare parts laying around.
the link that Banjo provides to the poem has an interesting comment by Edith Assaff. For those like myself who have never lived in a environment that included snow, it adds a certain context to the piece.
Purty!
Banjo, I appreciate works like this one. But I had some lousy mechanics for teachers.
Oh, you bohemian aesthete you, I love them all. I particularly enjoy people discussing poetry, because their insights are always much deeper than mine.
Sort of an oxymoron in a photo... palms and snow.
I miss mountains, especially snow-capped ones. Wow, so much here. Enjoyed the poem and B52 post. And Martha's music. It's alway interesting at AH. Thanks.
Love the photos, Love the poem,
Ach, you guys are so nice. I've now ordered a collection by the poet, which I'll read with CD's of Argerich playing in the background.
WV: Banana. The economic indicator is alive and has looked worse.
Banana: I just finished watching Dangerous Beauty.
I do like it. I'll go visit. Both the poet & the birds. What's with the snow?!?!
Merde,
Do I have to choose a team? I like the photos and the poem. I can't really realate cause our snow lasts about 6 hours. I think the palms against those mountains is way cool.
I"m a southerner, what did you expectt???
V
I don't know whether to throw a snowball or a coconut.
yet another thing you'll never see in Manhattan!
I'm not feeling well enough to read the poem, but the photos are lovely.
And this just goes to remind me of just how thankful I am to have central heating, especially when it's 5 degrees at 7AM, like today.
Beautiful, in Miss J's opinion. The Altadena vistas were stunning this weekend, weren't they???
I felt like I was walking Tommy in wonderland that day. Your photos show the magic. And I love this poem. I need to visit B52 more often. Thanks for the reminder.
Cool to see the view up close, you are lucky, and to think we over in Montecito Heights think we are close to snow.
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