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.
Because my mouth
Is wide with laughter
And my throat
Is deep with song,
You do not think
I suffer after
I have held my pain
So long?
Because my mouth
Is wide with laughter,
You do not hear
My inner cry?
Because my feet
Are gay with dancing,
You do not know
I die?
— “Minstrel Man” Langston Hughes, from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes
above poem by Langston Hughes, is one of my favorite, and assures my faith in humanity, as envisioned by Rabindranath Tagore.
Comment by abhishek — May 14, 2007 @ 2:14 am
I think, these lines from Tagore, sound more inspiring:
“When old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart and where old tacks are lost, a new country is revealed with its wonders.”
Comment by Mahadevan — May 15, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
Abhishek, Mahadevan, thanks…
Comment by Uma — May 17, 2007 @ 2:39 pm