I'se been a-climbin' on...

After reading The Warmth of Other Suns, which, from time to time, quotes the poetry of Langston Hughes, I wanted to review his well-known works and see what else he wrote.  The introduction to The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes says he was controversial, loved by many and accused of doggerel by others.  Below is what I consider one of his touching and familiar poems.  Below it is a poem less touching, less familiar, and less lasting.

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.

Mean Old Yesterday

That mean old yesterday

Keeps on following me.

The things I’ve said and done

Haunt me like a misery.

What I did last year—

How come it still matters today?

The snow that fell last winter’s

Melted away.

I thought you’d done forgotten

What happened way last week,

But when I saw you this morning,

You turned your head and would not speak.

Memory like an elephant,

Never forget a thing!

Well, if you feel like that, baby,

Gimme back my diamond ring.