Special Blog, Fourth of July

This poem, by Emma Lazarus, is on a plaque on the Statue of Liberty which greets everyone coming into the country through the port of New York:

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!"

PRAY: “Lord, give me your love for the tired, the poor and the homeless who come to this country seeking a better life.”

PRACTICE: If you believe in the sentiments of this poem, be sure you reflect that in your words, your actions, and your vote as a citizen of the country that proclaims them.