In comparing Seamus Heaney's "Digging" and Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays", both works represent poetry that is both reflective and nostalgic, signifying strong family ties, and an admiration for the hard work of their forefathers. Through out the lines of "Digging" and "Those Winter Days" these two poets paint the portrait of a young man in awe of their father's dedication to family and his responsibility to provide for them. However, the poet's tones suggest that these two poems are much different than they first appear. Though it is evident their poetry expresses an appreciation for the uphill struggle their fathers' faced, Heaney and Hayden express their appreciation in different ways.
             Analyzing one's childhood can bring back a flood of memories, and while they may not present themselves in everyday life, these images of days gone by can not be forgotten or lost. Seamus Heaney was born in Ireland, the eldest of nine children, and grew up surrounded by the support of his family and the confines of the Catholic Church. His father and grandfather both provided the family income by running their own cattle farm. While Heaney found more use in a fountain pen than a spade, as an adult he is able to appreciate the hard labor his father and grandfather did in a way that was unattainable as a young boy. He recognizes his lineage through out the poem, "By God, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man," and pays tribute to his grandfather as well as his father. His tone through out the poem is loving, and he develops a sense of the devotion he feels towards these two men who had a huge impact on his life. He also mentions feelings of inadequacy compared to them, "But I've no spade to follow men like them". In saying, "Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests. I'll dig with it", Seamus vows ...