“Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes [and Dylan Shayne]

Selection

(written without using the letter “e”)

My road ain't no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it
And Splints
And boards torn up
Parts with nothing soft with only wood
Shorn
But continuously
I grind and climb

Reference: “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, /” –Langston Hughes