Mother and 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 -climin’on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark,
Where there ain’t no light.
So, boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps.
‘Cause you finds it kinda hard.
Don’t you fall now-
For I’se still goin’, honey
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been crystal stair
From Make a Joyful Sound — Poems for Children by African-American Poets
