Mother to Son

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.

     "Mother to Son" is one of the more famous poems and and is written by Langston Hughes.  Hughes is an extremely famous poet who wrote many pieces throughout the years of the Harlem Renaissance.  His most famous work was probably the poem "My People" which everyone has or should have heard of before.I think that this poem is a very deep poem.  It talks about how life is and how life is hard, but you can't give up on it.  Hughes also uses literary devices such as metaphors to show this meaning.

     Hughes uses metaphors superbly.  The whole poem is is a continuous metaphor comparing life to a battered pair of stairs.  He says: "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."  These lines mean that life has not been easy and that the narrator has had to work hard.  The mother is comparing the stairwell to the path of life and is trying to explain that the path of life has many rough edges and life is not smooth.  Life doesn't always go as planned.  Next the mother says:  "But all the time/I'se been a-climbin' on,/And reachin' landin's,/And turnin' corners,"  I think in this part, the narrator is explaining how you have to keep going in life.  She is saying that you have to take life in little baby steps and that you have to keep moving.  She also urges her son on by saying: " 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."  She is telling her son that she was able to keep fighting so he has to keep going on with life even if he feels tired of it.

     I believe that this poem relates to real life in numerous ways.  The theme of the poem is that life is not a smooth ride, but is hard to maneuver, but you have to keep trying to get through it even if you feel tired of it.  I believe that stairs are an extremely good metaphor to use on life because life is in steps.  This could be a very good lesson for anybody.  Whatever we need to do in life, big or small, easy or hard, can be achieved if we take the steps that help us achieve it and don't give up.