Mother To Son

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.
~ Langston Hughes

Tags: Langston Hughes, Mother, Son, Life, Stair, Crystal, Climb, Turn, Dark, Light, Steps, Fall, Honey,

[GMW #2969]

My Soul I Summon

My Soul. I summon to the winding ancient stair;
Set all your mind upon the steep ascent,
Upon the broken, crumbling battlement,
Upon the breathless starlit air,
Upon the star that marks the hidden pole;
Fix every wandering thought upon
That quarter where all thought is done:
Who can distinguish darkness from the soul
~ William Butler Yeats

Tags: William Butler Yeats, Soul, Summon, Mind, Ascent, Stair, Star, Lit, Breathless, Starlit, Air, Hidden, Wandering, Thought, Distinguish, Darkness, 

[GMW #2968]