The New Colossus
by Emma Lazarus
There is a tragic gap between the dream that was once America and the current migrant crisis. Like so many complex issues facing our society any and all solutions seem to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem. How does poetry connect to humanitarian issues like immigration? Is poetry relevant anymore in informing and communicating the human condition? If the Statue of Liberty was being erected in 2021 for the first time, what poem do you think would be selected to commemorate and honor it’s significance today?
The Pink Crosses
by Amanda Auchter
Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
In this wild city, we are bones
scattered in the valley’s grave. An apron,
a white tennis shoe, a face gone
missing. A mother leans over the dust
scattered in the valley’s grave. An apron
around her waist, on her way to work. The
missing. A mother leans over the dust
and carves her daughter’s initials. Her name
around her waist, on her way to work. The
bones wait to be found; there are always bones. She prays
and carves her daughter’s initials. Her name,
Veronica, and the others, Esmerelda, Barbara, Brenda; our
bones wait to be found; there are always bones. She prays
to the gardens tethered to the field of pink crosses:
Veronica, and the others, Esmerelda, Barbara, Brenda, our
roses, wild poppies, fragile blooms of morning glories,
Fourteen Lines 