Peter's Poems

The 'New Colossus' Revisited; 2003:
Diversity in the Modern Age

 There's a Lady in our harbor, who offers shelter and safety to
all who dare to dream of a better, more just life…

By Peter Langlois

Red man, Red dot, Red threat, Pinko Commies, Yellow Plague

'Don't judge a book by its cover.'

Lesbo, bitch, John F. Kennedy, Spic, Nigger hater, Uncle Tom

' You gotta have heart!'

Alcoholic, druggie, misfit, Confederate States of America, Johnny Reb

'I have a dream.'

The Underground Railroad, African-American, Polack, Jew Boy

'I'm not black, I'm brown.

Mosaic, tapestry, diversity, inclusion, melting pot, Little Rock

'See the children playing together in the park.'

Honky, Banana lips, White trash, The Man, Wop, Hate

'Every mother casts loving eyes upon her child.'

Blue belly, Blue blood, feeling blue, Rainbow Coalition

'We all put our pants on one leg at a time.'

You're so stupid, Camel jockey, Dyke, Queer, Gay bar, Titty bar

'All we need is love!'

Discrimination, backlash, quotas, caste, sexist, deadbeat, Martin Luther King

'We're more alike, than different.'

Brother, sister, Roe v Wade, Aids, The Great Society, LBJ

'No child left behind.'

Mulatto, Sub human, Slave trader, Slave owner, Thomas Jefferson

'Neighbors help neighbors.'

Flamer, Bloods, Crips, Jets, Tong, Bigot, Skinhead

'You can't handle the truth!'

The New Colossus by Emily Lazarus

Written in aid of Bartholdi Pedestal Fund, Nov. 3, 1883.
(the inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty)

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!"

It's been 120 years since this beautiful invitation was written. Isn't it time we did a better job of keeping her promises? While so many foreigners look forward to her out-stretched beacon, we, her citizens, should be mindful and look back to this harbor for the greatest inspiration and wisdom of the ages. No other symbol so defines our essence. Our mission is clear. Is the Mother of Exiles not in fact the Mother of America?

 

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