A Farewel To America to Mrs. S. W.

Phillis Wheatley 1753 (West Africa) – 1784 (Boston)



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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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 28, 2023

1:31 min read
188

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDC AEFEF AGCGC HIXIX HJFJX ADKDK HLCLC HMNMN BEOEO XXPGP JQRQR BPCPC BSXSB
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,881
Words 288
Stanzas 13
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley was both the second published African-American poet and first published African-American woman. Born in Senegambia, she was sold into slavery at the age of 7 and transported to North America. She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who taught her to read and write, and encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent. The publication of her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral brought her fame both in England and the American colonies; figures such as George Washington praised her work. During Wheatley's visit to England with her master's son, the African-American poet Jupiter Hammon praised her work in his own poem. Wheatley was emancipated after the death of her master John Wheatley. She married soon after. Two of her children died as infants. After her husband was imprisoned for debt in 1784, Wheatley fell into poverty and died of illness, quickly followed by the death of her surviving infant son. more…

All Phillis Wheatley poems | Phillis Wheatley Books

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