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.
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Comments
1 - 28 of 28
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cool
From guest naps boy (contact)
i like the use of metaphors in this poem. it was a fairly good poem but i have a question. what are the two main things being compared -
hard
From guest boy who...... (contact)
i did not really like this poem because our teacher gave us really hard midterm questions on it.................. -
Good
seize the moment. There is nothing like a mother's wisdom. -
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From guest shauntayla (contact)
this is a good poem that's telling you to never give as i am your mother and life has been hard and i'm still climbing -
figurative language
I think the whole poem is a metaphor of life
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this poem.
From guest Bonquiqui (contact)
i think this poem is very inspiring and can be understood by anyone of any age. -
From guest theresa garcia (contact)
i really enjoyed this poem. it's true...i'm still climdin and hadn't got there get. and my son isn't no quiter. so this is perfect -
VOICE
From guest di di (contact)
`..IM really excited about learning and singing this poem with my school choir -
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i love it
From guest rakiesha (contact)
i like its real in honest to what mothers go though in life. my favorite peom ever -
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So much enjoyment
From guest Amber Hanna (contact)
I could feel the struggle that she's has been going thru she had ruff time in your life. but the thing is she never gave up. From a mother to her son. I love this poem -
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Beautiful Poem
From guest Secely Torres (contact)
I have heard this poem before and I also heard some woman who talked like this. What the mother said to her son is the truth. This poem points out about the real world and she sounds like a very wise woman. I love it! -
English 1
From guest Ashley Segrest (contact)
Hello thier I enjoyed reading this poem this poem really bings insperation to me.Thanks for letting me read this poem -
my favorite poem
From guest ape (contact)
my favorite poem i read it in eight grade with a raison in the sun and ever since ive loved it i want topaint it on my wall -
great!
From guest chizance (contact)
this poem really brings insperation to me, and im sure that it does the same for others too -
good inspirational poem
From guest Carmen (contact)
that poem is so inspirational to me it encourages me to keep trying and don't give up,and life ain't perfect for all of us well any of us -
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schoolll workk.
From guest Lissaaa (contact)
we have to study this poem and recite it to our english teacher. i likee this poeem. =] -
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Mother
From guest Michele (contact)
This has always been one of my favorite poem to read, way back before I became a mother. I was in junior high when I did a school play and was introduced to Langston Hughes Poetry, from then on I always recited this one particular poem and know I am a mother of 4 two boys, two girls, and a grandmother of two boy. I thought of this poem and started to cry it touches me in such a way that god has blessed me with wonderful kids that I can share this with.I only wish that I had meet Mr.Hughes in person so I can tell him just How grateful I am to be able to read such wonderful literature.unfortunately Mr.Langston Hughes Passed on a month after I was born, but he left a strong mark in American History. And for that I'm greatful. -
wow
From guest Dominique t (contact)
Wow this is a touching poem. This is showing that even though everyone goes through rough times that we keep climbing and cant sit ans stop we have to keep going. -
Beauty at It's Best
From guest Tisha (contact)
While I'm not going to be using this poem for an English assignment, it's incredibly beautiful and real.
MOD MESSAGE
We agree! -
From guest Mama Brown (contact)
Dear Daughter, This made me think of why I sent the flowers and how I feel lately! -
love it!
From guest Hayden Fortier (contact)
this poem is sooo awesome. i am using it for my project in english! Langston Hughes is GENIUS chyeah -
love this poem
From guest Joslyn Brewer (contact)
this is really a good poem seems as if it was written back in the 60's or 70's -
EPIC_v3
From guest Artemis Foul (contact)
This is one of my favorite poems. White Forest is another. -
Reality
From guest Cheryl (contact)
This poem was introduced to me over 30 years ago by my sixth grade teacher. It is a classic and it speaks volumes, no matter how you choose to classify it. -
Incredible
From guest Gambá (contact)
This poem is simply incredible. I think that it is a great motivational poem and it makes me want to go out there and do something incredible. -
amazing.
From guest Emily (contact)
This really shows pretty much anyone that no matter what life dishes out and no matter how far you are pushed down and put off, you give it your all to get back up again and push on. She is teaching not only her son an amazing lesson, but those who are reading! -
:)
From guest tAyLoR (contact)
i really like this poem, because it shows that the mother doesn't want her son to give up on life even though it gets hard on him, because she never gave up and she doesn't want him to give up either. My class is also studying this is English. -
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WOW
From guest Dominique (contact)
This is a poem that is inspiring to all of those who has had or is going through hard times. It just makes you stop and realize it is hard out in this world and you have no time to loose, tou have to keep climbing. Being 14, it's not hard living, but it sure aint easy. -
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URGENT
From guest Pallavi (contact)
I am confused! Is this a ballad if any one knows please contact me A.S.A.P Thanks -
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To guest Pallavi
A ballad is usually described as a narrative poem that is intended to be sung.
I cannot help feeling that though this is a type of narrative it would be hard to sing it and therefore it is not, in the strictest sense, a ballad.
Jim
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Facinating
From guest Pallavi (contact)
I think this has a really good message hidden in it, to always try your best to achive better in your life. -
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Its amazing!!!
From guest Dominique (contact)
I have to present this poem in front of my whole class in 2 weeks. As i was reading it I realized it is inspiring to me. I makes me want to keep progressing in life even if times may get hard. -
From guest Dana (contact)
Poignant urging to us all to keep going toward our dreams--however great or small they may seem--to keep creating a better future for ourselves. That is, just do it. Thank you for the "no excuses" reminder. -
Bancolita's Meaning
From guest John (contact)
the stair symbolizes a kind of path to live life. the crystal stair would be a path of life where there would be no problems and hindrance. the tacks,splinters and boards torn up represents the problems in life. the poem is saying that no matter where in life, we should never give up because in the end you'll get through it. and as you go farther up the stairs, you get more experienced and get used to the problems in life and you deal with it. -
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lovely
From guest sarahelizabeth (contact)
This brought a little tear to my eye. I've been through hard times and I have a son. This is perfect. And beautiful. -
for guest Jen
Mother is saying that she has had no luxuries in her life but has lived, loved, produced children and intends to keep on going. Her life has been tough, hard with deprivation, discrimination but her spirit has been alive the whole time.
Read again the lines under the 'crystal stair' reference and hopefully now it will become clearer to you.
It's a message from 'Mother to Son' life does become hard, difficult with little light at the end of the tunnel but forward is the only way to go. -
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From guest KIM (contact)
0mg...this is a nice poem
I have some questions
Do you think this poem is bleak and depressing hopeful and uplifting or somewhere in between? and can you plz explain why you think as you do?
AND MY OTHER QUESTIONIS:
What impression do you get of the mother from what she say? what qualities would she have?
MOD MESSAGE 2
Good try, Kim, but we're still not gonna do your homework. -
h3yy im kim
From guest KIM (contact)
what is theme or lesson to be learned of this poem Mother to son
MOD MESSAGE
Life (and your homework) isn't easy so don't give up when the going gets tough!! -
i the pome
From guest miracle (contact)
that pome tells me that you been throw alot. i read your pome in a pome reading contest i yon 1 plast i am 9 years old and reading my people this year. -
"Mother to Son"
From guest Love (contact)
This is a very good poem. I have read it many times and I always sense a sentamental value while reading it. I am a 7th grade reading teacher and I use the poem to express characteristics of metaphor within the context of poetry. -
From guest Crys (contact)
Very nice. Moving. Shows depth of not looking back, but always looking, moving forward,no matter your age, race, creed. Don't orget where you started,but don't remain there. -
sure is the truth!
From guest Amber (contact)
I'm 19 years old, and this is my first time reading this poem. I can relate to it, because my mother had a very tough life, and every day tries to teach me something so i can better my own life. This teaches determination and perseverance, two great qualities. Don't let life get ya down, and don't let it run ya over. No turning back, all you can do is move forward
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Mother to Son, Langston Hughes
From guest Donna (contact)
This is such a powerful poem. I will share it with my fourth and fifth grade students and hopefully be brave enough to share it at the "open mic" at our local radio station. It is a message we all need to hear and be reminded of. -
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I loved it!
From guest Monique Dorroh (contact)
This poem is wonderful. The poem really gave me a great message and I really could relate to it. -
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I love it
From guest sweets (contact)
I am 34 now and I remember reading this poem in the 4th grade I had to do it in fornt of the class as if i was talking to my son. It was a feeling I have never forgotten. For something to inspire somone so young I think is amazing!! -
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Good
From guest Nazeema (contact)
WELL THIS POEM IS OKAY I MEAN I READ BETTER POEMS THAN THIS ONE BUT FROM 1-10 I GIVE IT A 6 OR 7 hoWEVER IT REALLY DOES INSPIRE YOU AND THIS POEM IS GOOD FOR MOTIVATION -
Its a nice poem, it really does make you look in to your own life with things. When times get hard you really do have to keep going. Inspiring.
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This is one of my favorites!
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Wonderful
From guest Savanna B. (contact)
I really enjoyed reading this poem. I can feel the dialect when I think it, and even if I try to speak this poem aloud, I can't help but let it out slow and western. Very nice, with a wonderful message about determination. Marvelous. -
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Spirited encouragement
It seems the mother's son grasped her feelings and took them as his own. How else could he write such masterly poetry and show such feelings with great images. -
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asking
From guest anjelica (contact)
what is langston hughhes mother's name?
(The son of Carrie Langston Hughes (a teacher) and her husband, James Nathaniel Hughes)
Charley Noble -
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Needed to think
Don't trust my read. It is inspirational and has depth. I 'm still learnin' to walk those steps. Need a break to sit and drink some lemonade. Can't go as fast as I used to. Sure, is a hot day -
Mother To Son
From guest Cordelia Odom-Barnes (contact)
I am 57 years of age, and this has been my all time favorite Poem since I was 15 years of age and began to discover Black Poets, and you know what I'se still climbin' and no matter how tough it gets I won't fall. -
Classic
This is one of the greatest poems ever written and it will forever be known throughout history. I love this poem. I have heard and read it a thousand times before. I just love to read it over and over and over. -
That's a nice poem!
From guest Taylor Fooce (contact)
I love your poem! To me it means that the mother's life was hard, and she doesn't want her son's life to end up like that too. Is that what it really means or not? -
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To guest Taylor Fooce
For me Hughes is passing on the same message that most parent's pass on to their children.
"Life is hard, I have struggled to get this far up life's ladder and I will keep struggling to get higher. Don't you just rest on my efforts but keep struggling higher for yourself and for your own children."
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mother to son
From guest carol (contact)
Langston Hughes is one of my all time favorite poets. Every time I read his work, it stabs me in the heart and my eyes fill with tears. Now thats poetry. -
From guest blackrag (contact)
Every word is well thought out and is used for an effect the word tack is used with a double meaning tack as in a small nail thing and tack as in a zig-zag course, with sudden changes as the mother had experienced the word splinter is a small piece of wood and the word splinter is to break into small sharp pieces, like her her heart has been broken down before boards torn up could be a metaphor for her close torn up because boards are used to cover the ground and clothes are used to cover the body the word bare is singeled out becasue it is a metaphor for times when her house was bare of furnishing or her body was bare of close or bare as in her life was simple and dull then he uses a great metaphor when he talks about goin dark and no light he is talking about how the mom has done things she is ashamed of, bad things(hence the "no light" and the "dark")things like stealing, working in a bar, selling her body etc. Overall an exceptional, high-minded and well constructed piece of poetry -
awesomest poem ever
From guest Miranda (contact)
This poem is so awesome, and i also recited it in 7th grade. I learned a lot about this poem, and it just helps to tell you what life is really all about. Thanx, langston Hughes -
From guest Christie (contact)
I dislike this poem. I mean, it has a nice message, but I'm not very fond of the way Hughes writes. The ghetto voice does give this some redeeming realism, though. -
wow
From guest destiny (contact)
i've performed this poem for my 7'th grade year and i loved it so much i now recite it every year before i start a new one it is great and one of my personal favorites -
My Favorite
From guest Encouraged (contact)
I have loved this poem since I first read it many years ago. It captured my attention in such a way that it gave me the encouragement to keep climbing lifes journey. -
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poem
From guest A+ student (contact)
very good poem. it remindes me of everything that my mother told me when I was in high school and I was having trouble in all of my classes and she encouraged me to do better -
From guest Genevieve (contact)
The Mother to Son poem by Langston Hughes is about a mother sharing her life experiences with her son. The mother is trying to teach her son lessons she learned throughout her life. The theme of this poem is persistence, overcoming hardships and never giving up. A poetic device Hughes uses in this poem is a metaphor, to show that the mother’s life has not been easy and she has had to struggle through a lot. “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”, Hughes compares the mothers hard life to a “crystal stair”, which represents a perfect easy life. Another poetic device Hughes uses is symbols; he uses symbols all throughout the poem to represent what the mother has been through in her life. “It’s had tacks in it, / And splinters, / And boards torn up, / And places with no carpet on the floor --/ Bare.” These are symbols that represent the suffering and obstacles the mother has gotten through in her life. The placement of the word “Bare” as the only word on the line puts emphasis on the word and makes more of an impact. The mother’s message that she is trying to convey to her son is that no matter how hard life gets do not give up. Hughes uses many symbols to convey the message that the mother has overcome her struggles becasue her persistence, “I’se been a-climbin’ on, / And reachin’ landin’s, / And turnin’ corners”. The poem Mother to Son is a mother giving her son advice on life because she knows his life will not be a “crystal stair”, just as hers was not and she knows how hard it will be for him. -
Amazing
From guest H C (contact)
This poem is a great inspiration no matter who you are. It is important to remember this because often in life we forget it is the bitter things that make life so sweet! -
Excellent -Keep on Keeping On
From guest J Turner (contact)
I found this to be uplifting - Dare to keep dreams alive. -
Lanigston hughes poetry
From guest deep (contact)
i love the way langston hughies writes his poemlswith so much so-ul lin it i ve the way he doesnt ryhme his words yes i love him and his poems -
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NICE POEM
From guest BRENDA (contact)
THIS POEM IS TELLING ABOUT THE PROMBLEMS AND TRIBULATIONS THAT A MOTHER IS TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO HER SON -
Mother's struggles
Reminds me of the struggles my mother conquered in raising six children as a single parent. She always emphasised the need to set goals and standards and go after them. A strong woman who wants better for her son. I get so emotional reading it. -
WOW!
From guest TANYA (contact)
WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, I LONG TIME AGO, I MIGHT ADD, THIS IS THE POEM THAT I HAD TO RECITE IN FRONT OF STUDENTS, TEACHER AND PARENTS FROM MEMORY AND STILL TODAY, IT'S POWERFUL TO ME. -
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i had to read this infront of alot of people and i love it !
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Looks like free-verse to me.
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lol
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