Mother of Exiles

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This piece blends the striking and timeless text of Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus” with a haunting Ukrainian folk song evoking longing for the land of one’s birth. “The New Colossus” is emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty and is best known for its concluding lines:

“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!”

But less famous is a passage that proceeds it

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. 

Note: This is a digital download (PDF).

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