 | Poems of Phillis Wheatley |  |
A FAREWEL TO AMERICA.
TO MRS. S.W.
I
ADIEU, New-England's smiling meads,Adieu, the flow'ry plain:
I leave thine op'ning charms, O spring,
And tempt the roaring main.
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II
In vain for me the flow'rets rise,And boast their gaudy pride,
While here beneath the northern skies
I mourn for health deny'd.
III
Celestial maid of rosy hue,O let me feel thy reign!
I languish till thy face I view,
Thy vanish'd joys regain.
IV
Susannah mourns, nor can I bearTo see the crystal show'r,
Or mark the tender falling tear
At sad departure's hour;
V
Nor unregarding can I seeHer soul with grief opprest:
But let no sighs, no groans for me,
Steal from her pensive breast.
VI
In vain the feather'd warblers sing,In vain the garden blooms,
And on the bosom of the spring
Breathes out her sweet perfumes,
VII
While for Britannia's distant shoreWe sweep the liquid plain,
And with astonish'd eyes explore
The wide-extended main.
VIII
Lo! Health appears! celestial dame!Complacent and serene,
109
With soul-delighting mein.
IX
To mark the vale where London liesWith misty vapours crown'd,
Which cloud Aurora's thousand dyes,
And veil her charms around,
X
Why, Phœbus, moves thy car so slow?So slow thy rising ray?
Give us the famous town to view
Thou glorious king of day!
XI
For thee, Britannia, I resignNew-England's smiling fields;
To view again her charms divine,
What joy the prospect yields!
XII
But thou! Temptation hence away,With all thy fatal train
Nor once seduce my soul away,
By thine enchanting strain.
XIII
Thrice happy they, whose heav'nly shieldSecures their souls from harms,
And fell Temptation on the field
Of all its pow'r disarms!
Boston, May 7, 1773.
| Poems of Phillis Wheatley | |