Colin Halloran
A New Colossus
What are the dimensions for a child-sized cage?
How many feet? How many inches?
What is the volume by hate?
How many thoughts and prayers can fit
In a cage?
In a lifeless piece of legislation?
How many daughters drowned
and sons separated.
How many is enough?
How many bodies will it take
to cover her beacon of hope,
that old colossus telling the new lie.
There is no sweetness here
no shelter that’s not forced
no golden door, no sunset gates.
Imprison people—humans—
not lightning.
Narrow mild eyes in harsh command
and turn the world away.
Exile mothers yearning to be free
wretched refuse on our shore.
We are the new colossus
the tempest that tosses
masses from our land.
Colin D. Halloran is a United States Army veteran who documented his experiences in Afghanistan in his memoir-in-verse Shortly Thereafter (Mint Hill Books, 2012), winner of the Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award. He is also the author of the poetry collection Icarian Flux (Main Street Rag, 2015). His poems, essays, and short stories have been appeared in many publications. When not writing, Halloran leads workshops that seek to promote personal and international healing and reconciliation through writing and the arts.
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