Friday, October 28, 2016

"The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus

On this day in 1886, as the Associated Press says, "the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland."

American poet, essayist and philanthropist Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) was an avid advocate of Jewish causes. Her famous sonnet "The New Colossus" is inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.


THE NEW COLOSSUS
by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"


Liberty Enlightening the World

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