A Farewel To America To Mrs. S. W.

Phillis Wheatley

               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.

               IV.
Susanna 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.

               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, Phoebus, 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!

               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!



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