Mother to Son by Langston Hughes (1922)
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 kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
Thank you for this, it's beautiful and something we can all identify with. At last! Poetry I can understand.
ReplyDeleteGlad to share and I know what you mean. There are great poets out there but I can't figure out what they are saying. It's true of Shakespeare as wel. I understood nd like his play Julius Caesar in high school but that's because our teacher went through it line by line with us explaining the meaning.
DeleteWhat a wonderful poem! I love it.
ReplyDeleteAgree, he was so talented
DeleteThis is a very nice poem. I purchased a Kindle copy of his first book of poetry, The Weary Blues. I will look for more books of his poetry at the book sale.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy The Weary Blues. He' s a great poet and also understandable.
DeleteWhoa! No crystal stair indeed. That's what I like about his poems -- they're powerful and easy to understand and not sugarcoated. He lays it on the line. Heartfelt too. I could use more of his poetry.
ReplyDeleteGood point. There is alot of heart in his poetry that we can all relate to.
Delete