Free Verse · Poems About Mom
Mother to Son
by Langston Hughes · 1922
1Well, son, I'll tell you:
2Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
3It's had tacks in it,
4And splinters,
5And boards torn up,
6And places with no carpet on the floor—
7Bare.
8But all the time
9I'se been a-climbin' on,
10And reachin' landin's,
11And turnin' corners,
12And sometimes goin' in the dark
13Where there ain't been no light.
14So boy, don't you turn back.
15Don't you set down on the steps
16'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
17Don't you fall now—
18For I'se still goin', honey,
19I'se still climbin',
20And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes — quilloak.com/poems/mother-to-son
Quick facts
- Poem
- Mother to Son
- Poet
- Langston Hughes
- Published
- 1922
- Length
- 20 lines
- Form
- Free Verse
- Themes
- Poems About Mom, Strength, Inspirational
Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Langston Hughes1902–1967
- Source record
- WikisourceMother to Son by langston-hughes, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- The Crisis, 1922
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 8305f1248c2b2553…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.