Copyright 1995 by Nonjohn
Keep, ancient lands, your wretched refuse!
Give me your energetic, your prosperous,
Your select few yearning to breathe free,
The crème de la crème of your teeming shore.
Send these, your very best, straight to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
Commentary: This rewording of the well-known lines from the sonnet at the base of the Statue of Liberty was prompted by observations of ever-increasing domestic blight, unaddressed poverty, homelessness, disease, and the shortcomings of our public education system.