“Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes

This week, I’m taking a look at “Mother to Son,” by Langston Hughes. I love the poem’s message, which is about not giving up, even though life is hard. The poem’s narrator, the mother, uses the metaphor of a staircase to describe life to her son. Whether she’s telling these words of wisdom to her son as a young, naive boy, or as an adult who’s been through some struggles, is unknown; but that’s the best part, that her lesson is timeless.

The mother starts off by telling her son that life hasn’t been easy for her. Her metaphor for a simple life is “crystal stair[s]” (2). She speaks directly, saying, “Well, son, I’ll tell you:/Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” (1-2). In this way, she shows that she will be using her own personal experience as the foundation of her argument. The narrator goes on to describe how, far from being a set of crystal stairs, the staircase of life for her has consisted of “tacks” (3), “splinters” (4), “torn up” boards (5), and “places with no carpet on the floor–/Bare” (6-7). She’s had to either step on these hazardous areas or carefully avoid them, though both scenarios cause pain and frustration. But despite these difficulties, she’s kept going.

The mother tells her son, “But all the time/I’se been a-climbin on’” (8-9). She still, to this day, hasn’t given up. She’s been exhausted at times, hurt, and a combination of both, but this hasn’t stopped her from carrying on with life. After this line, she continues, explaining how all her struggles have helped her grow as a person:

And reachin’ landin’s,

And turnin’ corners,

And sometimes goin’ in the dark

Where there ain’t been no light. (10-13)

Langston Hughes

The good thing about life is that it’s not merely a series of endless steps; occasionally you get breaks (make it to landings), and sometimes you have breakthroughs (turn corners). There are times when you feel that you’re unable to go on (climbing in the dark), but this only motivates you to climb faster, or work harder, to get through the hard times. The mother’s point is that for every hardship in life, there’s something amazing waiting to happen to you too, which is why you shouldn’t just give up every time the stairs seem too steep. This leads her to her next bit of advice, which is, “So boy, don’t you turn back./Don’t you set down on the steps/’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard” (14-16). Giving up won’t solve anything. If you give up when life gets hard, you sacrifice all the wonderful things that lie ahead, which is why we must all keep moving forward.

The mother concludes with these words:

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. (17-20)

What she means is that, if she can continue climbing, her son certainly can. Things haven’t been easy for her either, but she’s still going. Life isn’t always easy for any of us, but that doesn’t mean we should lose hope. If we can just use that hope to help us make it through, we’ll get to see all the beautiful things life has in store for us.

*Top photo credit: mindyourbump.ie

Related Reading:

• Read a biography of Langston Hughes
• “Losing a Child,” on Ben Jonson’s poem to his son (SevenPonds)