Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

Diana Mara Henry
This has to be one of my all-time favourite poems about mothers.  And to all the mothers out there (as well as my very own), we love and appreciate you very much.  Happy mother's day.

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 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.


Comments

  1. Good stuff here. As always from Hughes. Makes me think of Kevin Durant's NBA MVP speech. Did you hear about that? As I listened to that, I wondered: was he grateful like that when he was say, 14? ;)

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  2. Life is messy, gotta keep going. Where have I heard that recently??? :)

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  3. <3 Haven't read LH is awhile. Thanks, Ruth:)

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  4. This has always been a favorite of mine as well . . . sigh.

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  5. that one gets me every time. in fact all of langston hughes work gets me every time. he is one of my all-time favorite. i can visualize his world so well from his poetry, it's almost like i have memories of it of my own, just by the times i have read his work before and pictured it in my head.

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  6. I love this one as well! :) Thanks for sharing! I hope you will have fun celebrating your mother!

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  7. Beautiful and just what I needed to hear right now. Mothers are funny things, whether ours, others', or ourselves if we have kiddos. Happy mother's day to yours, Ruth. :)

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  8. I haven´t heard that before, thanks for sharing - love it! :-)

    http://tinajoathome.com/

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  9. This poem is new to me-- but agree, it really is lovely. There are definitely challenges to being a mother, but I can tell you this--- I wouldn't trade the role for the world!

    ~Alexis Grace of North On Harper

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  10. i always liked a dream deferred and i haven't heard of this one until now and i love it. thank you for sharing.

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  11. I don't know much about Langston Hughes's works (hangs head in shame), but this is beautiful! What a wonderful depiction of a mother's struggles

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  12. Beautiful photo and poem! Life certainly isn't a crystal stair, not for anyone. I like her message to her son -- keep on climbing them!

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  13. I've never seen this poem before, but it's quite beautiful. Thank you for sharing this with us :)

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