A Father To His Son
Carl Sandburg
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 might serve him.
Brutes have been gentled where lashes failed.
The growth of a frail flower in a path up
has sometimes shattered and split a rock.
A tough will counts. So does desire.
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 thwarted worms.
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 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 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.
The first poem "Father To A Son" by the Carl Sandburg uses a large number of metaphors. "Life is hard; be steel; be a rock" is one of the metaphors
used in his poem. This metaphor is comparing a bump in the road to giving up. Put a brave face on and prepare for anything that might try knocking
him down. Another metaphor that was used in his poem was 'Life is a soft loam; be gentle; go easy means to me that he shouldn't always be in a rush
to do thing or get thing that he should take your time and let life happen the way it was intended to happen the way that is was planned out not the
way you think of getting what ever it is done faster. Another metaphor used in his poem is "Sometimes into dry thwarted worms" This means to be in
in constant control of his life. That it can get boring and very dried up and there will be less of a spark of interest after a long time of
the repeated behavior. The poem "FATHER To A Son" is based on the life changes going on in the world. This poem shows how a father speaks to his son
about the things that the world has to offer and how and what he need in order to make it far in life. It also shows what the child is in need of in
order to survive and not let things get the best of him.
In the second poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes this is a poem about a mother talking to her son about the things that life can offer him
and at any given point when his life can change for the good. She is also telling him to not give up on what he wants and to never look back to the
past and what might of happened but to continue to push forward. The theme in this poem is about the changes of life and how do we face them every
day in life. The theme shows the growth of the child and the change that is expected to come from him. She wants her son to push forward and to
never give up on what he wants in life and chooses to do with his future. One metaphor that is uses in the poem to show the topic as a whole is "And
life for me ain't been no crystal stair this metaphor to me shows that life and always easy and things cant just be given to him. He have to fight
for what he wants and not to give up.
Being a parent is not something that is easy to do some times being a mother or father can bring happiness or great depression to their child. I find that parents
are an important part in a child's life. Being both a father or a mother is a big responsibility at this point of our life when you are a parent we
have to put your dreams on hold most times or we choose to end your life to become a parent and switch's roles with your partner and let them work for
a while. I honor all parents in this world because they can do somethings others can and that is to raise another life.
jnthn_vlz@yahoo.com
© jonathan perez 2010
