I think the theme of the poem is to to keep going no matter how hard life gets and never give up. In the poem, a mother compares her life to a staircase and says twice in the poem that her life "ain't been no crystal stair." She wants her son to know she understands the difficulty of life because she has lived it, and she, therefore, has the right to encourage him not to "turn back," "set down" or "fall." The mother wants her son to follow her example. She tells him she has climbed over tacks and splinters and broken boards. She has walked in bare places and in the dark. Using examples from her life, the mother reminds the son to not expect life to be easy. Everyone faces challenges, but they have to keep going to succeed. She speaks to him lovingly at the end, referring to him as "honey" and assuring him that she is still forging ahead in life.
