Tuesday, May 5, 2015

My Poem to Help Us Remember the Contributions of Jews to America











THE JEWS HAVE THEIR MONTH

The Jews have their month each May in our land.
It’s time to regard them and take a stand.
Jewish Americans, what is your story?
Have you looked back at heroes of glory?
Some say Columbus was one of your number.
Stir your memory, and don’t let it slumber.
Emma Lazarus of poetic skill
Welcomed the Jews that others would kill –
The Statue of Liberty, standing in the harbor
Bore Emma’s words of poetic ardor:

“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!”[1]

Then honor the man whose finances saved
America from Britain – Haym Salomon paid!
The war was won, but Salomon died
A pauper.  His wife and children denied
The payment of loans they did not receive.
At least say a prayer of thanks for his deed.[2]
Yes, let us all thank the Jews in our land
For blessings that God gave to us through their band.
In every field of human endeavor,
Their gifts to our nation show God’s special favor.
Discoveries, inventions, and medical marvels
And products we carry home by the armfuls.
In sports and in movies, especially comedy,
The Jews entertain us and help the economy!
Americans, put your hands together and clap!
May is the month for the Jews – don’t nap.
Notice the blessings that God promised Abram.
The Jews, his descendants, have blessed our nation.[3]

April 30, 2015
By Nancy Petrey



[1] Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus,” 1883, affixed to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1903.
[2] David Lewis, Israel and the USA: Restoring the Lost Pages of American History (1993).
[3] Genesis 12:1-3.

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