Poem-A-Day: By the Waters of Babylon [V. Currents] by Emma Lazarus

By the Waters of Babylon [V. Currents] by Emma Lazarus   1. Vast oceanic movements, the flux and reflux of immeasurable tides, oversweep our continent. 2. From the far Caucasian steppes, from the squalid Ghettos of Europe, 3. From Odessa and Bucharest, from Kief and Ekaterinoslav, 4. Hark to the cry of the exiles of Babylon, the voice of Rachel mourning for her children, of Israel lamenting for Zion. 5. And lo, like a turbid stream, the long-pent flood bursts the dykes of oppression and rushes hitherward. 6. Unto her ample breast, the generous mother of nations welcomes them. 7. The herdsman of Canaan and the seed of Jerusalem's royal shepherd renew their youth amid the pastoral plains of Texas and the golden valleys of the Sierras.         Today's poem is in the public domain.     Poetry by Lazarus     Emma Lazarus: Selected Poems (Library of America, 2005)           Poem-A-Day Launched in 2006, Poem-A-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Browse the Poem-A-Day archive.     May 26, 2013 The descendant of Sephardic Jews originally from Portugal, Emma Lazarus was born in New York City on July 22, 1849. She is best known for her poem "The New Colossus," which appears on a bronze plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Lazarus died in 1887. Related Poems Our Valley by Philip Levine Sea Fever by John Masefield Out of the Rolling Ocean, the Crowd by Walt Whitman Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem In Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.

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