In Hughes’ poem “Mother to Son”, a mother advises her son that he will face many adversities in life, and yet he must overcome them and keep going. The mother compares the journey through life to ascending a staircase. She says that for her life has not been a staircase made of crystal. Rather it has been quite rough with protruding nails and pieces of wood jutting out, boards torn up and places where the carpet was missing. However, she has kept climbing, through landings, corners and darkness in spite of such discomforts. She then asks the boy to walk in her footsteps and keep moving forward without turning back or giving up because he finds the journey arduous. She wants him to take inspiration from the fact that she is still going steady despite life’s hardships.