Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral/A Farewel to America
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, 5And boast their gaudy pride,While here beneath the northern skiesI mourn for health deny'd.
III.Celestial maid of rosy hue,O let me feel thy reign! 10I 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 15At sad departure's hour;
V.Not unregarding can I seeHer soul with grief opprest:But let no sighs, no groans for me,Steal from her pensive breast. 20
VI.In vain the feather'd warblers sing,In vain the garden blooms,And on the bosom of the springBreathes out her sweet perfumes,
VII.While for Britannia's distant shore 25We sweep the liquid plain,And with astonish'd eyes exploreThe wide-extended main.
VIII.Lo! Health appears! celestial dame!Complacent and serene,With Hebe's mantle o'er her Frame, 30With soul-delighting mein.
IX.To mark the vale where London liesWith misty vapours crown'd,Which cloud Aurora's thousand dyes, 35And 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! 40
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, 45With all thy fatal trainNor once seduce my soul away,By thine enchanting strain.
XIII.Thrice happy they, whose heav'nly shieldSecures their souls from harms, 50And fell Temptation on the fieldOf all its pow'r disarms!
Boston, May 7, 1773.