Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” are poems that describe a relationship between a father and son. The speakers in both works are looking back on their childhoods, primarily their relationships with their fathers. The fathers in these poems had unique ways of expressing love thus making the relationships with their sons atypical. One can see the difference in the poems through the tones the speakers used. …showed first 75 words of 1155 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1155 total…differences. People may not always express feelings the same way, but their feelings are valid none the less. Another important message one can take from “My Papa’s Waltz” is to make every moment matter. The speaker misses his father and longs for one last dance, maybe because he regrets that never took the time to express to his father how much he loved him. We should learn from these poems to live without regrets.