Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Lady Liberty


“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” 


“Lady Liberty”  by Theodore Bonev (2007)
at the Agrement roundabout, St. Maartin


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"As an allegory of Liberty, Woman symbolizes a passion for freedom inherent to all human beings, while at the same time exposing the limits of liberty as an abstract ideal. What does liberty mean for women in a male-dominated world?                                                     ~ Barbera Taylor,   Liberty is a Woman   (Read the rest of the essay LIBERTY IS A WOMAN! here


Liberty Enlightening the World 
 Statue of Liberty
donated to the US by France (1886)
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Midweek Motif ~ Lady Liberty

Liberty is often represented allegorically as a woman.  Given the place of women in the world, this is ironic.  Or is it wishful thinking?   In my country, the liberty I have comes as part of white privilege, but even then it is an exception rather than the rule.  Or have we "come a long way, baby"?*
(*This quote is from the 1988 advertisement for Virginia Slims cigarettes below.)

Your Challenge:  Speak to Lady Liberty, or let Her speak in your new poem.  Is Ms. Liberty someone you know?

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The Old Stoic


Riches I hold in light esteem,
   And Love I laugh to scorn;
And lust of fame was but a dream,
   That vanished with the morn:

And if I pray, the only prayer
   That moves my lips for me
Is, “Leave the heart that now I bear,
   And give me liberty!”

Yes, as my swift days near their goal:
   ’Tis all that I implore;
In life and death a chainless soul,
   With courage to endure.




Eugène Delacroix - Le 28 Juillet. La Liberté guidant le peuple.jpg
Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix (1829)
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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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"


By Jessica Toby Lustig (2017)
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excerpt from lady liberty

. . . . 
if you touch me, touch ALL of my people
who need attention and societal repair,
give the tired and the poor
the same attention, AMERICA,
touch us ALL with liberty,
touch us ALL with liberty.

hunger abounds, our soil is plentiful,
our technology advanced enough
to feed the world,
to feed humanity's hunger . . .
but let's celebrate not our wealth,
not our sophisticated defense,
not our scientific advancements,
not our intellectual adventures.
let us concentrate on our weaknesses,
on our societal needs,
for we will never be free
if indeed freedom is subjugated
to trampling upon people's needs.

this is a warning,
my beloved america.
. . . .
(Read the rest HERE,)


August 2, 2017
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Please share your new poem using Mr. Linky below and visit others in the spirit of the community—

                (Next week Sumana’s Midweek Motif will be ~ City )

15 comments:

  1. Y E A H...liberty is the song of the soul, I always keep saying this. A fantastic prompt Susan & A very happy Fourth July to you all in the USA. May there be Light everywhere.

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    1. Thank you, Sumana. We're not giving up here!

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  2. Happy 4th of July Susan. If any Trump supporters find my poem offensive...I do not apologise.

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    1. No problem. We may have dueling poems, but not today so far,

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  3. A very topical prompt for these distressing times. I am looking forward to reading the responses.

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  4. My poem IS there! Maybe the electric in the air is making my blogger woozy? Just click on my blog heading and you will find it as the first one. It's still just an idea as I fish around for what I really want to say as my heart yearns for solutions.

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  5. Hello everyone. Know, it has been almost 11 months since my last appearance here, due to health and other issues. As today is July 4th, am wishing Susan and all other American members, a safe and happy Independence Day.

    As for my poem, I think I have turned left with this one. Oh well.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the wishes. Good to see you back here with us, Therisa!

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  6. I struggled to write a new poem yesterday, which was a full day, and today would have been my mother's 81st birthday, so I'm sharing one I posted back in May.

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  7. I know I am late, but still glad to be here. I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful 4th.

    ReplyDelete

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