‘Give me your tired, your poor’

We could most likely argue and debate forever on the greatness of one poem versus another in an attempt to decipher the greatest poem of all time, and never come to agreement. How could we? It’s impossible, as it is with art or music or most things in life when opinion is shared.

But perhaps when it comes to poetry there may be one item that we can agree upon, and that would be poem placement. Which poem occupies the number one spot for its physical positioning, and where is this enviable location? Well, on the Statue of Liberty of course!

The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, an enormous statue, 110 feet tall, erected to the Greek Sun God, Helios. It stood at the entrance to Rhodes harbour and was completed in 280BC but only stood for 54 years due to an earthquake 236BC which left it in ruins.

In her poem ‘The New Colossus’, Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) compares this wonder from ancient times to a then modern wonder, the Statue of Liberty which, as we know, stands at the mouth of New York harbour and has become a beacon of hope and salvation for so many, from so many different corners of the world.

Although the attitude towards migration may well have shifted in recent times within the USA, there is no doubting the symbolism that can be attached to this most instantly recognisable structure, and the wonder and awe it must have struck into the hearts and minds of so many as the hundreds of vessels carrying visitors and refugees alike made their entrance into the harbour of the New World. (At 111 feet from head to toe, Liberty is disappointingly small to the modern viewer, but ironically is almost exactly the same size as estimates have it for the height of the original Colossus at some 110 feet).

Although the poem, written by Lazarus as a donation to help raise funds toward the erection of a pedestal for the statue, was associated with the statue initially, by the time of its official unveiling to the public in 1886, the poem was largely forgotten.

Following the death of Lazarus a year later, there began a move to find a home for this beautiful, striking sonnet, and efforts to properly situate it in its rightful place.

And so, since 1903, cast as a fine bronze plaque, the poem resides on the inner wall of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The original manuscript is held by the American Jewish Historical Society. It remains a fine poem, rich in the generous spirit which gave hope and opportunity to the poor and persecuted from other parts of the world searching for a new chance.

Granted, for many the persecution and racism did not always end when setting foot in the New World, nor does it today, but opportunity remained, as she wrote, at ‘the golden door’.

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