Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral/Ode to Neptune

by Phillis Wheatley

 

ODE to NEPTUNE.

On Mrs. W—'s Voyage to England.

I.

WHILE raging tempeſts ſhake the ſhore,
While Æ'lus' thunders round us roar,
And ſweep impetuous o'er the plain
Be ſtill, O tyrant of the main;

Nor let thy brow contracted frowns betray,

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While my Suſannah ſkims the wat'ry way.

II.

The Pow'r propitious hears the lay,
The blue-ey'd daughters of the ſea
With ſweeter cadence glide along.

And Thames reſponſive joins the ſong.

10

Pleas'd with their notes Sol ſheds benign his ray,
And double radiance decks the face of day.

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III.

To court thee to Britannia's arms ⁠Serene the climes and mild the sky,

Her region boaſts unnumber'd charms,

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⁠Thy welcome ſmiles in ev'ry eye. Thy promiſe, Neptune keep, record my pray'r, Nor give my wiſhes to the empty air.

Boſton, October 10, 1772.