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.

—“Mother to Son,”
Langston Hughes

What is the central idea of the poem?

Life is not easy, but there are places along the way for children and parents to rest.
Life is not an easy journey, but children should keep climbing, just like their parents.
Life is not easy, but if it were too easy, children would not listen to their parents.