Total Pageviews

Sunday, September 16, 2012

SUNDAY REVIEW / THE NEW COLOSSUS--By Emma Lazarus [1848-1887]



FORGOTTEN HISTORY--The following poem was etched upon the Statue of Liberty in 1903. She died of cancer before her words were immortalized on Lady Liberty.

THE NEW COLOSSUS, Poem 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!"


Image: Emma Lazarus, public domain.


SUNDAY REVIEW—A new online literary review appearing exclusively on Pillar to Post (www.tomshess.blogspot.com).

No comments:

Post a Comment