A Farewell To America To Mrs. S. W. Poem by Phillis Wheatley

A Farewell To America To Mrs. S. W.

Rating: 3.4


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!

Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Topic(s) of this poem: farewell
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Kevin Straw 20 January 2010

A pretty poem, but an empty one. I see 'mein' is misspelled - it should be 'mien' - '(chow) mein' is a Chinese food, or German for 'my'. The word is also wrongly spelt in Project Gutenberg. Which makes me wonder where Poemhunter got it from!

19 28 Reply
Ramesh T A 20 January 2010

When grief stricken and the heart is full of pain of loss of dear one all beautiful things of Nature and sweet things of life become a matter of no concern however delightful they all might have been once and cannot be enjoyed again so! Message of grief written in nice verse moves heart much indeed!

26 10 Reply
John Jenkins 28 February 2005

The poem was very interesting

23 11 Reply
Ravi A 20 January 2009

After a long time I have read a good poem composed in the very format of poetry. The poem is highly readable. The emotions that it invokes cannot be easily translated into words....Ravi Panamanna

22 10 Reply
John Richter 20 January 2015

Please take the time to read Phillis' biography. You'll find that she was a slave who lived and died before the 19th century and was taught to read by her owners, presumably with their children. I'm sure that some would even think her first name misspelled. Regardless - as a poet I hereby humbly request that after my body expires it would be of particular pleasure to my soul for my words to be presented as I wrote them. I would ask that Phillis' words be kept as is not only for posterity, or to preserve the idea of poetic license, but to more importantly involve the reader with her struggles and the rare oddity that belongs solely to this very lovely and unique woman.

7 4 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 14 February 2024

This Immortal Poem still amazes me, written by the first Afro American Poetess, the greatest in history of NorthAmerican Poets. I still give this immortal poem, most importantly written the highest mark! I am still impressed!

0 0 Reply
Chinedu Dike 18 May 2021

Nicely articulated and powerfully brought forth. An insightful piece of poetry written with conviction.

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 18 May 2021

A very amazing poem, fantastic! I have read and reread again, this is such most loveliest poem of Phillis Wheatley. Greatest gem, greatest brilliance!

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 18 May 2021

5 Stars full for this truly precious and most important African Anmerican poem. Phillis Wheatley was the first African American Published Poetess!

1 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 18 May 2021

and each poembook got that note, but the USA publishers in Boston refused to publish her poems

1 0 Reply
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