Mother to Son
Langston Hughes 1902 (Joplin) – 1967 (New York City)
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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Submitted on November 09, 2020
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 948 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCDEFBGHDDIJKDLMNHB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 519 |
Words | 99 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
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"Mother to Son" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/59301/mother-to-son>.
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