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A Lady Waits |
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The sleepy sea massages a creaking ship which slowly
navigates
through blackness the sky emanates and the
great Atlantic integrates.
A sailing school of serenading
seagulls dips and dives and celebrates,
and amongst the
sea-sick shipmates, a welcome murmur swiftly circulates.
A wave of steerage class splashes onto the seaweed-soaked
stern and congregates,
viewing a line of lights which
levitates on the horizon it incubates.
As fingers point
to a distant shore, the name "America!" reverberates.
The
salty air invigorates, and the chorus of commotion
escalates.
A cry pulls the tide of faces to the rear row
of citizen candidates
where her wind-whipped shawl barely
insulates the hungry newborn she placates.
As if Moses
were parting the sea, the silent congregation separates.
Gleaming with gratitude, she glides to the front rail the
moon illuminates.
The baby's throat pulsates with
mother's milk while through lash-locked lids he fixates
on the Emerald Empress whose torch radiates on the dreams
she consummates.
Beholding the beacon who beckons brave
believers, his mother boldly states,
"When this restless
night abates, the misty morn of a daring dawn elates,
but
tonight, sleep well my child ... for across the harbor, the
lady waits ..." |
By E. V. Wyler
Copyright 1995
Listed March 7, 2017 |
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Author's Note...
 My
mother was only 10 years old when she and her
parents left their native Germany to begin a new
life ... here, in America. They came aboard an old
steamship named The George Washington, and my
inspiration for writing A Lady Waits stems from
hearing my mom recall that magical night when
she was roused from sleep ... because The George
Washington had just entered New York Harbor.
Today, Lady Liberty no longer greets the
great steamships teaming with immigrants, but
she stands just as tall and her torch burns just
as brightly when she greets the ferries packed
with their descendants, the thousands of
tourists who come each year to visit where their
family's American story began.
If you're
considering visiting The Gateway to America,
please come ... A Lady Waits!
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