The poem contains fourteen lines, the same structure as a sonnet. However, Hayden does not adhere to the meter or rhyme scheme of either a Shakespearean or Petrarchan sonnet. Moreover, sonnets are usually not divided into stanzas, whereas Hayden divides the poem into three. It does not pose a question or a problem that is answered or addressed in another part of the poem, as some sonnets are.

The poem is spoken from a retrospective viewpoint as the speaker reminisces about the sacrifices his father made for himself and his family. The poem ends with a rhetorical question that reads as self-recrimination. He clearly communicates the regret he feels for not expressing his appreciation for the effort his father put forth in working to support the family as well as being the one who would rise early to build the fire to warm the house and perform other chores to make life more comfortable for the speaker. Only later in life does the speaker come to fully understand and appreciate what his father had done for him.