Mother to Son

Reflecting on Mothers Day and my mother, the matriarchs before her, and others who have adopted me into their lives as their son, I thought about Langston Hughes's Mother To Son and how well the poem describes the resolution of my mother; her strength, her determination to be a woman of God in word, in deed, and in truth!

Then...

I thought about the conversations that my students (3rd graders) and I had about the poem (which they committed to memory and perform VERY well) and what it means. I remember being so proud that they were able to grasp the comparison of "Mother's" crystal stair/rugged stair to life; what it was and what it was not.

I thought about and remembered how we discussed how the poem shifts from what life had been for Mother, how Mother tackled life head on and the exhortation that Mother gives "To Son".

I recall to my mind how my 3rd grade students "got it" and the examples they gave of what Mother might have been referring to when she discussed those "tacks in it", those "splinters", those "boards torn up" those "places with no carpet on the floor" and the bareness of it all. I remember them giving very real examples, some of which probably drawn from a place not too far from their own observations, reality, and experiences.

Then I remember how they and I quoted the poem with a bit of an attitude from the depthtidude of our soulitude when we transitioned to how Mother reacted to life's enigmas as she's just kept "a-climbin on" and "reachin {those} landins" and "turnin corners" even in dark. (We discussed the abstract concept of 'faith'). I remember the neck swings and hair tosses of the girls in the class as we recited those parts.

Finally, with even more resolution in our tone of voice, we'd look at "boy" and encourage him not to give up nor to give in; not to feel bad or sorry for himself, not to "set down on the steps 'cause you finds it kinder hard." But rather, take a hint from "Mother". After all, she's still "goin honey", she's still "climbin'" even though life for her "ain't been no crystal stair."

Happy Mothers Day to all of  the phenomenal mothers out there! Big ups to all of those who knowingly or unknowingly assume the role of a mother for someone; someone who you may not even realize is watching you, beholding your life, your style, your grace, your patience, your poise, your labor of love, YOU! Much love to you all!