Poetry Friday - "Mother to Son"

This is one of the first poems I really remember studying, and I remember finding the imagery to be incredibly powerful. I think it is this poem that made me love poetry. It's definitely what made me love Langston Hughes. The man is pure genius! Enjoy.


MOTHER TO SON
by Langston Hughes

Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor-
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
‘Cause you finds it’s kinda hard.
Don’t you fall now-
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t be no crystal stair.