Monday, July 04, 2011

America: Mother of Exiles


In honor of Independence Day, I present Emma Lazarus' beautiful poem "The New Colossus," etched on the base of the Statue of Liberty:

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-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

5 comments:

Belle said...

Beautiful poem! Happy 4th of July.

Luana Krause said...

Hi, Belle. I hope you have a blessed holiday celebrating our wonderful country. Shout out to all our soldiers and their families.

anthony stemke said...

Proud to re-read that poem, Thank You for posting it.
Hope you and your family had a wonderful Independence day.

Luana Krause said...

Anthony: And a wonderful blessed Happy Independence Day to you! God Bless America!

Craig Edwards said...

That is gorgeous! Thanks so much for posting it! Happy 4th of July, Luana!