The New Colossus

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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!”

by Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883




Web Author's note: In 1883, Emma Lazarus wrote her sonnet to to raise money for the construction of the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal.  The opening line of her poem refers to the Colossus of Rhodes, a symbol of the Greek and Roman era that also served as a Lighthouse.  Larazus’ poem, The New Colossus, symbolizes a new Light of Liberty for exiles to create a new life without religious and racial persecution and her beacon-hand was a Lighthouse of world-wide welcome from the sea of suffering.

Web page format and content, excluding the poem,
Copyright ©2003 by Debbie Dolphin.
Document Updated:
Sunday, Nov 02, 2003, 09:30:00am Eastern Standard Time (-5GMT)