American poet Langston Hughes (1901 – 1967) was of mixed race heritage. His great-grandmothers were enslaved Africans, while his great-grandfathers were white slave owners. His father left the family soon after Langston was born, so his mother Carrie had to find employment and bring up her son. Young Langston’s life changed when he found books, as he explains in his autobiography The Big Sea: “Then it was that books began to happen to me, and I began to believe in nothing but books and the wonderful world in books.”
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 sit 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.
The poem uses the metaphor of the staircase to depict life’s challenges. It’s a dramatic monologue that can be read simply as a poem about facing poverty (places with “no carpet on the floor”). However, it can also be read as a poem about racism. White people might have a “crystal stair” to climb, making the ascent easy and smooth, while black people must take a dark and more dangerous staircase. But perseverance and support can overcome many obstacles.
The mother who speaks in the poem is realistic and straightforward. She doesn’t sugar-coat anything, she never suggests that racism will end – she simply advocates that her son keep on going in a fight to succeed. She is giving the poem to her son as encouragement.
Langston Hughes became a poet, playwright, novelist and social activist, often writing about the harsh realities of life for black Americans. His poem Mother to Son was first published in a magazine in 1922.
Listen to the poem nicely read by Viola Davis:
You might also like to listen to Martin Luther King Jr recite this poem:
Have you enjoyed this poem? I’d love to know what you think, let me know by leaving a comment.
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Helen
I too didn’t get racism – but for me it was more about keeping on keeping on.
The crystal stair is perhaps the unseen struggle that anyone might face, some more than others for sure.
I guess though, as Susannah mentioned, one’s reactions might be different with previous knowledge of the author’s background. I wonder if that should matter – perhaps that is a question we might ask of ourselves on reading any poem, book, article?
Susannah Fullerton
Good point. I guess if you know about the poet’s background, you assume racism to be a theme. For others, it can be simply a poem about facing life’s difficulties.
Maureen Watson
Thank you for opening up to others the words that have been written that
we would not have found on our own
From Maureen Watson
Susannah Fullerton
It was a new poem to me too, and I loved it. So moving!
Graham H.
I don’t think it’s about racism or poverty. I think it’s about difficulty and easiness. It’s about climbing, and not turning back. If it’s “easy and smooth”, then it’s not an “ascent”. In William Blake’s canonical poem, “The Crystal Cabinet”, for example, “crystal” symbolizes a subjective and ultimately illusory world of idealized love, beauty, and creativity. So a “crystal stair” is not in fact a winning lottery ticket. The poor mixed-race guy (“son”) is actually lucky, to get a dark, uncarpeted stair, and a struggle, and to perforce engage in life.
As far as the poem goes as a poem though, I thought that the repetition of the second line as the final line, was weak and unimaginative.
Susannah Fullerton
It is certainly not obviously about racism, though I think the poverty is pretty clear. However, when you know about the author and his mixed race background, I guess the idesa of racism does tend to infiltrate.
I had actually never come across this poem before and found it moving.
Honey
Beautiful. This reminds me of Senator Scott reporting about how his mother accepted no excuses and pushed him to succeed. Or Justice Thomas’s story. I loved both renditions. I always found MLK’s offerings inspirational.
Susannah Fullerton
I agree that this is an inspirational poem. So glad you enjoyed it, and also the MLK reading of it. He clearly knew it well.