April is National Poetry Month

USCIS 100:95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?*

1983horizons1: "The New Colossus" March 07, 2010
 "The New Colossus" is a poem written by Emma Lazarus in 1883 and was engraved inside the Statue of Liberty. The poem talks about the millions of immigrants who came to the United States (many of them through Ellis Island at the port of New York). The title of the poem, "The New Colossus" and the first two lines refer to the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The "air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame" refers to New York City and Brooklyn, which were two separate cities in 1893.

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!"

USCIS 100:95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?*

• New York (Harbor)
• Liberty Island
• [Also acceptable are New Jersey, near New York City, and on the Hudson (River).]

Learn more: (updated 2022)

• poetry.org: 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month in the Classroom Explore ways to celebrate in the classroom. post
• Obama WH: Lin-Manuel Miranda Performs at the White House Poetry Jam: (Alexander Hamilton) 2017 video
• Obama WH: Hamilton at the White House 2009 video
• WSJ: Amanda Gorman reads inauguration poem, 'The Hill We Climb' video