Lady Liberty

You know who she is.
Everyone recognizes her,
standing tall in the New York Harbor.

I see her often
from the deck of the ferry,
going the long way from
Rockaway to Wall Street

Lady Liberty has witnessed a lot
since she came to rest 
in our harbor

People come to visit her
from all over ~ every state in the Union
and countries all over the world

I think mostly they come
because she represents
Freedom.

Freedom to live the life you choose.
Freedom to make a living for yourself
and your family.
Freedom to worship however it suits you
or not at all.

Lady Liberty stands for an ideal.

She has no power to bring the things
she stands for to fruition.

She stands there as an aspiration.
She stands there as a reminder of what's possible.
She symbolizes the kind of nation
we hopefully still want to be.

I wonder when I see her lately
if she's crying inside.

I wonder if she's raging at the authoritarian takeover
of our country that is happening now.

As long as she stands there
she reminds us of what
we hoped to be.

I wonder when those who have usurped power
will decide to tear her down.

The last time I passed her by
I took a long look at Lady Liberty.

I noticed her right arm holding the torch
seemed to me to be a fist
raised in the air.

So, as it turns out,

Lady Liberty is a fighter!

She's not going anywhere.

She's not giving up.

And neither should we!