Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

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.

In Langston Hughes’ poem, “Mother to Son,” the mother is speaking to her son; her message is that her life has not been easy, but she has not let herself stop trying. The speaker uses a “stair-way” metaphor to represent her life.

She first tells her son that “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” A crystal stair represents an imaginary path of ease—the crystal makes the climb smooth and comfortable. The stair this mother has ascended has had difficulties—“tacks” and “splinters”—it has had not had carpet which would also make the walk easier on the feet.

And as in life, there are twists and turns, the stairway the mother has climbed his had turns. But she makes the point that she never gives up, regardless of the difficulty: “I'se been a-climbin' on.” And she is rewarded for her effort by reaching landings and turning corners; these places on the stairway represent real achievements she has made by her vigilant struggles.

Don’t Give Up

She advises her son, “So boy, don't you turn back / Don't you set down on the steps.” She has been through darkness on her climb up the steps, but she warns him that just because things can be hard, he must let the challenges dishearten him to the point of ceasing the struggle.

She repeats three times that she has never given up the struggle to meet life’s challenges: “I'se been a-climbin' on,” in line 9, “For I'se still goin', honey,” line 18, and “I'se still climbin',” line 19. She also repeats the line that establishes the metaphor: “Life for me ain't been no crystal stair,” in the second and last lines.