There is a plaque. With an inscription. It is at the base of statue. A lady holding a flame. Overlooking the ocean.
At times, strong winds have buffeted the flame. It remained burning. Just as hope is everlasting, so is the flame. A symbol of hope. Of values. Of the humanity of man.
Strong winds are once again trying to extinguish the flame. If the flame is extinguished, I am afraid a darkness, the likes of which the world has not witnessed, shall engulf all of us.
The flame, sometimes flickering, but never out. It shall continue to burn brightly.
You see, it is not a physical flame.
The flame represents what we as humans value the most...our hopes, dreams and freedoms. That hope shall continue to burn..everlasting. Just as the flame held by a lady.
The writing on the plaque, in its entirety, reads:
( it actually is a sonnet " New Colossus " )
"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-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”