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

by Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883

 

 

For more information about the Statue of Liberty or about Emma Lazarus, check out these sites. 

http://statueoflibertyclub.com/poems.html

http://www.statueofliberty.org/   

http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/liberty/libertyfacts.htm

http://www.libertystatepark.com/emma.htm

http://jwa.org/historymakers/lazarus

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/lazarus.htm