Poems on various subjects, religious and moral

Wheatley, Phillis (1753-1784)

POEMS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS.

To MÆCENAS.

On VIRTUE.

To the University of CAMBRIDGE, in NEW-ENGLAND.

To the KING's Most Excellent Majesty. 1768.

On being brought from AFRICA to AMERICA.

On the Death of the Rev. Dr. SEWELL. 1769.

On the Death of the Rev. Mr. GEORGE WHITEFIELD. 1770.

On the Death of a young Lady of Five Years of Age.

On the Death of a young Gentleman.

To a Lady on the Death of her Husband.

GOLIATH OF GATH. 1 Sam. Chap. xvii.

Thoughts on the Works of Providence.

To a Lady on the Death of Three Relations.

To a Clergyman on the Death of his Lady.

An HYMN to the Morning.

An HYMN to the Evening.

Isaiah lxiii. 1—8.

On Recollection.

On Imagination.

A Funeral POEM on the Death of C. E. an Infant of Twelve Months.

To Captain H—D, of the 65th Regiment.

To the Right Honourable WILLIAM, Earl of Dartmouth, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for North America, &c.

ODE TO NEPTUNE.

To a Lady on her coming to North-America with her Son, for the Recovery of her Health.

To a Lady on her remarkable Preservation in an Hurricane in North-Carolina.

To a Lady and her Children, on the Death of her Son and their Brother.

To a Gentleman and Lady on the Death of the Lady's Brother and Sister, and a Child of the Name Avis, aged one Year.

On the Death of Dr. SAMUEL MARSHALL. 1771.

To a Gentleman on his Voyage to Great-Britain for the Recovery of his Health.

To the Rev. Dr. THOMAS AMORY on reading his Sermons on Daily Devotion, in which that Duty is recommended and assisted.

On the Death of J. C. an Infant.

An HYMN to Humanity. To S. P. G. Esq;

To the Honourable T. H. Esq; on the Death of his Daughter.

NIOBE in Distress for her Children slain by Apollo, from Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book VI. and from a view of the Painting of Mr. Richard Wilson.

To S. M. a young African Painter, on seeing his Works.

To His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, on the Death of his Lady. March 24, 1773.

A Farewel to AMERICA. To Mrs. S. W.

A REBUS, by I. B.

An Answer to the Rebus, by the Author of these Poems.

CONTENTS.

[advertisement]

Collapse All | Expand All expand section

119

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.

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.

120

IV.

Susannah mourns, nor can I bear
To see the crystal show'r,
Or mark the tender falling tear
At sad departure's hour;

V.

Not unregarding can I see
Her 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 shore
We sweep the liquid plain,
And with astonish'd eyes explore
The wide-extended main.

121

VIII.

Lo! Health appears! celestial dame!
Complacent and serene,
With Hebe's mantle o'er her Frame,
With soul-delighting mein.

IX.

To mark the vale where London lies
With 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 resign
New-England's smiling fields;
To view again her charms divine,
What joy the prospect yields!

122

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 shield
Secures their souls from harms,
And fell Temptation on the field
Of all its pow'r disarms!

Boston, May 7, 1773.

University of Virginia Library

A Farewel to AMERICA. To Mrs. S. W.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

X.

XI.

XII.

XIII.