The Statue Of Liberty

"The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus

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!"

The definition of colossus is giant; someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful. Lady Liberty is just that. Large and powerful, she stands just over 305 ft from ground to tip of torch, but yet still is so much more just like our moms. Like our mom's, the Statue of Liberty teaches us freedom and democracy as well as international friendships. It teaches us never to discriminate. My understanding of this poem is that the Statue of Liberty represents everything America stands for. The poem says "and her name Mother of Exiles" saying that America will take in the rebellions, the lost, the hopeful and give you the freedom to do whatever it is you please. The Statue of Liberty stands for hope, love and comfort. Lady Liberty is the mother of America and she will be there to see you live a joyful life.
My dad's side of the family is Irish immigrants who traveled here to America during the potato famine. I could just imagine my great-great grandparents making that decision to come to America to give their children and their children's children a better life so that they didn't have to work on farms. They wanted to see their legacies go on to be so much more than a farmer. They wanted to see their legacies succeed and when they came to America and saw the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island everything they wanted was what Lady Liberty stood for.