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!"
These words are inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Kudos to Gandalf.
BTW...I have a way to monitor comments. Post away!
Posted by tripp at April 17, 2006 10:16 AMHuzzah, comments are back!
And huzzah, "The New Colossus" has long been one of my favorite poems. And you're right, it's particularly germane to the public conversation right now.
It doesn't distinguish between legal and illegal immigration, which I think is important -- we, individually and as a nation, should treat people with kindness regardless of their legal status.
But it's also worth noting that that distinction is not made, and that the poem cannot stand as a blanket endorsement or a blanket repudiation of any specific policy concerning immigration -- just a reminder that we should have one, and an emotional suggestion that that one should be canted towards inclusion rather than exclusion.
Posted by: Megan at April 17, 2006 11:58 AMI agree. But what I like about this poem is the sentiment...the color of our immigration policy. As a gift from the French, it was to be a symbol of a democratic desire. That is what is also interesting to me. Democracy is supposed to stand within such ideas or to extol them as virtuous. It seems, however, that as a nation we are not so interested in thses virtues.
Posted by: Tripp at April 17, 2006 02:14 PM