| Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784). Poems on Various Subjects. 1773. | | | | Ode to Neptune |
| | On Mrs. W—’s Voyage to England.
I. WHILE raging tempests shake the shore, | |
| While Ælus’ 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, | 5 |
| While my Susannah skims the wat’ry way. | |
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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, | 15 |
| 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. | | | | |
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