Donald Trump recently proposed to cut legal immigration to the US by half over in the next decade and to establish a merit-based immigration program. Under the plan, applicants with certain credentials, such as large salaries and English proficiency, would be given preference.
Many people viewed the proposal as an attack on American values like equality and opportunity. Trump’s plan also led to a heated exchange in a press briefing when CNN’s Jim Acosta asked White House aide Stephen Miller if the Emma Lazarus poem The New Colossus that is at the base of the Statue of Liberty is still relevant. In response, we’d like you to write poems that riff on the final lines Lazarus’s work:
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!
What poem would Trump like to see at the base of the Statue of Liberty? How would Trump rewrite the message of American compassion? We are also open to more general riffs on Lazarus’s poem that speak to Trump and his immigration policy. For inspiration, read submissions from over 20 poets.
Submission guidelines
- We ask that you limit submissions to five lines, and borrow the Lazarus structure so there’s consistency in the entries.
- Because of our layout, we prefer that poems have titles. Poems without titles will have “Untitled” written above them.
- We can’t publish all submissions, but we will feature a selection in a story and on social media.
- You can submit your poem using the form below.
