Mother to Son in  General   

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.

By Langston Hughes

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Other poems by Langston Hughes:

• Ardella
• Daybreak In Alabama
• Dream Deferred
• Dream Variations
• Fire-Caught
• Freedoms Plow
• I, Too, Sing America
• Juke Box Love Song
• Justice
• Madam And Her Madam
• Merry-Go-Round
• Minstrel Man
• Mother to Son
• Night Funeral In Harlem
• Problems
• Quiet Girl
• Still Here
• The Blues
• The Negro Mother
• The Negro Speaks Of Rivers
• The Weary Blues
• Walkers With The Dawn