In this poem, the speaker talks first about how his father wakes up early in the morning on sunday and lights the fireplace to warm up the house, saying that his father gets up early even after a hard week of work. No one, including the speaker, ever thanks him. Then the speaker would wake up, but perhaps fearing his father a little bit, like maybe his dad yells a lot (chronic angers). Even when the speaker would go down and talk his father, it was without enthusiasm or compassion. The speaker is reflecting on the past, saying that he didn't realize when he was younger that these were expressions of love (his father waking up early to warm the house and shine the speaker's shoes).
It seems like there might have been a lack of very open affection while the speaker was growing, like his father was never directly affectionate and had bouts of anger. This put a bit of a strain on the father-child relationship, and kind of distanced them from each other a bit. The speaker didn't realize until they were older that while their dad wasn't super touchy-feely, he still loved them, and showed his love in more simple ways.
I think this poem is really universal (especially as a teenager). I know I have the same kind of relationship with my parents. My family was never very touchy or good with emotions, so blatant acts of affection were incredibly rare, especially as I got older. I find myself feeling the same way as the speaker, just having a sort of vague indifference towards my parents, and not really knowing how to build a relationship with them because there wasn't ever that outward connection and affection. I know my parents do little things (like turning off my lights when I fall asleep with them on, among others), but it's kind of hard to recognize that in the moment. You don't always see this as their way of making a connection until you've gotten older. So I mean, I think the poem wonderfully portrays the complexities of parent-child relationships, where things aren't always transparent, and their can be love, disdain, enthusiasm and indifference all at once, and does it in a way where it could probably relate to a lot of people. Even if you've only ever felt like that way for one second of your life, I think it captures it pretty well.
Excellent!
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