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 seas-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!"
~ Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883

As many can tell, this poem is about the Statue of Liberty, or Lady Liberty as she may be referred to in this poem. Emma Lazarus wrote this in NYC in 1883, one year before the Statue was done being built. What many don't know is that New York almost lost their spot in having Lady Liberty in their harbor as the giant building project of both the statue and the pedestal that she'd be standing on would cost millions of dollars, something which the state didn't have at the time. So Joseph Pulitzer, the New York World publisher (a newspaper that was read by thousands at the time) organized the largest fundraiser in American history, asking readers of the World to donate any and all money they could to help keep Lady Liberty in New York. The New Collossus was read by Lazarus at the celebration of its completion on October 28, 1886 (ten years behind schedule; builders had hoped to unveil it on the 100th anniversary of the Declaration but there were delays) and has come to symbolize the Statue of Liberty.

My personal thoughts on this poem is that it does greatly resemble what people may think Lady Liberty would say: "If you cannot care for your weak, poor and estranged citizens, then give them to me and I'll take care of them." Incidentally whenever I think of the Statue of Liberty I remember a scene in the second Ghost Busters movie where the Ghost Busters got the Statue to move so that New Yorkers (who were portrayed as angry, miserable Americans) would feel proud and happy. The reason they used the Statue of Liberty for this and not something else is because all Americans, including New Yorkers, feel a strong sense of pride about famous American icons such as Lady Liberty, the bald eagle, the American flag, the Declaration of Independence and so on. Fortunately for the Ghost Busters New Yorkers weren't as miserable and selfish as people had thought they'd become.

P.S. Most of the information about the Statue of Liberty came from me watching the show America: Story of Us.

Statue of Liberty