Thursday, October 14, 2010

Mag 36



The New Colossus

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!"

Unfortunately, there is no originality in my brainpan this week.  The poem was written by Emma Lazarus and is engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor.
 
And, yes, I know it's not necessarily a golden door in the photo but a Dutch door.  So be it.
 
Please look at Willow's Magpie Tales page for some writers with more imagination than this unworthy scribe.

12 comments:

  1. Good to be reminded what our ideals are made up of..thank you!!

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  2. What a lovely take on the prompt, Mr. C. Gave me goosebumps.

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  3. Good to see the full text of the poem anyway, and it is an interesting take...

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  4. constructive tale...
    break free from the messy part, the implication in it.

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  5. You know that is cool that you shared that. I have never been to the Statue of Liberty or heard that poem. Thank you so much for sharing it. It really means a lot and it still takes a creative mind to appreciate the work of another poet.

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  6. if only they were written on our hearts and not just our statues to days gone by...nice magpie...

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  7. an absolutely perfect take on the magpie....I had to memorize that poem in 4th grade, it has never left me :)

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  8. It is nice for you to do a double tribute one to the poet and the other to the "Lady" in the harbor.

    So few have read those words or even less I dare say know of the poems existence.

    In a sense I felt like I was in ancient Rhodes sharing in the experience.

    Here is a little trivia for you..

    The design, posture and dimensions of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor are based on what the Colossus was thought by engineers in the late 19th century to have looked like. There is a famous reference to the Colossus in the sonnet "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, written in 1883 and inscribed on a plaque located inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty:

    cheers,
    Joanny
    http://thedowsersdaughter.blogspot.com/

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