A father sees a son nearing manhood.
What shall he tell that son?
'Life is hard; be steel; be a rock.'
And this might stand him for the storms

and serve him for humdrum and monotony
and guide him amid sudden betrayals
and tighten him for slack moments.
'Life is a soft loam be gentle; go easy.'
And this too mightserve him. 
Brutes have been gentled where lashes failed.
The growth of a frail flower in a path up
has sometimesshattered and split a rock. 
A tough will counts. So doesdesire. 
So does a rich soft wanting.
Without rich wanting nothing arrives.
Tell him too much money has killed men
And left them dead years before burial:
The quest of lucre  beyond a few easy needs
Has twisted good enough men 
Sometimes into dry thwartedworms.
Tell him time as a stuff can be wasted.
Tell him to be a fool every so often
and to have no shame over having been a fool
yet learning something out of every folly
hoping to repeat none of the cheap follies
thus arriving at intimate understanding 
of a world numbering many fools.

Tell him to be alone often and get at himself
and above all tell himself no lies about himself
whatever the white lies and protective fronts
he may use amongst other people.
Tell him solitude solitude is creative if he is strong
and the final decisions are made in silent rooms. 
Tell him to be different from other people
if it comes natural and easy being different.
Let him have lazy days seeking his deeper motives.
Let him seek deep  for where he is a born natural.
    Then he may understand Shakespeare
    and the Wright brothers, Pasteur, Pavlov,
    Michael Faraday and free imaginations
Bringing changes into a world resenting change.
    He will be lonely enough
    to have time for the work
    he knows as his own.
        -From 'The People, Yes' Carl Sandburg

Langston Hughes'
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 stepsDon'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.

In the two poems "A Father To His Son "and "Mother to Son" there are many metaphors. In both poems it's a parent to a child giving advice and explaining life and it's challenges in several ways. When I read these poems I understood the metaphors but also interpreted these in my own way.

"Life is hard; be steel; be a rock." This doesn't mean to be acting like a rock. It's a way of saying be strong. A rock is hard so it's hard to break and if the son is hard like one he will hold his head up and get through life easier then being sensitive and soft. Words and situation might bother him but don't let it break him. This might stand him for the storms This means that there is challenges a head. When they show movies and when it's gonna be a storm the people at sea have to get ready to stick it out."Another metaphor Life is a soft loam be gentle; go easy."basically means don't take life so roughly although there is hard moments take his time and enjoy life.

"Life for me ain't been no crystal stair." what she means by this is nothing comes easy. Basically what I mean by nothing comes easy is that things will be hard and in order to get what you want you have to work for it. That will also take time but its not impossible.

Parents should clarify things that are going to occur in life . They should Warn their children that life can be tough.Be strong and not let the negative get the best of them. They should explain that it takes hard work to get to the top but it's never impossible to make it. They should only tell, but should show them how to avoid certain situations if they can and teach them the way to success or show them the path. Parents should always be supportive and there for their child .

Exoticbeautyjo@aim.com
© Jodie Gonzalez 2010