When Lady Liberty Wept
By Gary Corseri
29 July, 2013
Countercurrents.org
“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,” she recalled,
“With conquering limbs astride from land to land…”
And yet, even so, it had come to pass,
With every military base, with drones
Hovering everywhere, in the drowned dreams
Of exiles, “refuse,” “yearning to breathe free.”
And what freedom now in the Surveillance State
Where every thought was subject to review
And “newsmen” scurried to assess the threat
From hydra-headed, huddled masses—lost,
Renditioned, imprisoned, killed at the behest
Of elected, cowardly Pinocchios,—
Smiling before drug-induced amnesiacs?
They could not remember who they claimed to be;
Nor why; nor how it mattered to posterity.
Only a looming sense of dread embalmed
Them in a kind of amber ghosts might study
In the years ahead—if there were years… ahead.
And so, she wept… as some say Mother Mary weeps;
As some say Rachel wept for her lost children.
Copper-colored tears from cupreous eyes;
Copious tears from her iron skeleton.
And the wind blew the tears upon her torch.
And the light went out.
By Gary Corseri © Copyright, 2013. Permission is granted for reprint in blog, or web media if this credit is attached and the title and contents remain unchanged. Gary Corseri has published novels, collections of poetry, and his dramas have appeared on Atlanta-PBS and elsewhere. He has taught in US public schools and prisons, and he has been a professor in the US and Japan. His work has appeared at periodicals and websites worldwide, and he has performed his work at the Carter Presidential Library. [email protected].
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