Mother to Son
poem
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.