A Farewell

Adieu, New-England's smiling meads,Adieu, the flow'ry plain;I leave thine opening charms, O spring!And tempt the roaring main.

In vain for me the flow'rets rise,And boast their gaudy pride,While here beneath the northern skiesI mourn for health denied.

Celestial maid of rosy hue,Oh let me feel thy reign!I languish till thy face I view,Thy vanished joys regain.

Susannah mourns, nor can I bearTo see the crystal shower,Or mark the tender falling tear,At sad departure's hour;

Nor unregarding can I seeHer soul with grief opprest;But let no sighs, no groans for me,Steal from her pensive breast.

In vain the feathered warblers sing,In vain the garden blooms,And on the bosom of the springBreathes out her sweet perfumes,

While for Britannia's distant shoreWe sweep the liquid plain,And with astonished eyes exploreThe wide extended main.

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

To mark the vale where London lies,With misty vapors crowned,Which cloud Aurora's thousand dyes,And veil her charms around,

Why, Phœbus, moves thy car so slow?So slow thy rising ray?Give us the famous town to view,Thou glorious king of day!

For thee, Britannia, I resignNew-England's smiling fields;To view again her charms divine,What joy the prospect yields!

But thou, Temptation, hence away!With all thy fatal train,Nor once seduce my soul away,By thine enchanting strain.Thrice happy they, whose heavenly shieldSecures their soul from harms,And fell Temptation on the fieldOf all its power disarms!

Boston, May 7th, 1773.