Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral
by Phillis Wheatley
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, is a collection of poetry by Phillis Wheatley, the first African American woman ever to be published.
Source: Wheatley, P. (1773). Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.London, England: A. Bell.
- "To Maecenas."
- MAECENAS, you, beneath the myrtle shade,
- "On Virtue."
- O Thou bright jewel in my aim I strive
- "To the University of Cambridge, in New England."
- WHILE an intrinsic ardor prompts to write,
- "To the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1768."
- YOUR subjects hope, dread Sire––
- "On Being Brought From Africa."
- 'TWAS mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
- "On the Death of the Rev. Dr. Sewell. 1769."
- ERE yet the morn its lovely blushes spread,
- "On the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. 1770."
- HAIL, happy saint, on thine immortal throne,
- "On the Death of a Young Lady of Five Years of Age."
- FROM dark abodes to fair etherial light
- "On the Death of a Young Gentleman."
- WHO taught thee conflict with the pow'rs of night,
- "To a Lady on the Death of Her Husband."
- GRIM monarch! see, depriv'd of vital breath,
- "Goliath of Gath. 1 Samuel, Chap. xvii"
- YE martial pow'rs, and all ye tuneful nine,
- "Thoughts on the Works of Providence."
- A R I S E, my soul, on wings enraptur'd, rise
- "To a Lady on the Death of Three Relations."
- WE trace the pow'r of Death from tomb to tomb,
- "To a Clergyman on the Death of His Lady."
- WHERE contemplation finds her sacred spring,
- "An Hymn to the Morning."
- ATTEND my lays, ye ever honour'd nine,
- "An Hymn to the Evening."
- SOON as the sun forsook the eastern main
- "On Isaiah lxiii. 1-8."
- SAY, heav'nly muse, what king or mighty God,
- "On Recollection."
- MNEME begin. Inspire, ye sacred nine,
- "On Imagination."
- THY various works, imperial queen, we see,
- "A Funeral Poem on the Death of C. E. an Infant Aged Twelve Months."
- THROUGH airy roads he wings his instant flight
- "To Captain H. D. of the 65th Regiment."
- SAY, muse divine, can hostile scenes delight
- "To the Right Hon. William, Earl of Dartmouth, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for North-America."
- HAIL, happy day, when, smiling like the morn,
- "Ode to Neptune."
- On Mrs. W–––––'s Voyage to England.
- "To a Lady on Her Coming to North America with Her Son, for the Recovery of Her Health."
- INDULGENT muse! my grov'ling mind inspire,
- "To a Lady on Her Remarkable Preservation in a Hurricane in North Carolina."
- THOUGH thou did'st hear the tempest from afar,
- "To a Lady and Her Children, on the Death of Her Son and their Brother."
- O'ERWHELMING sorrow now demands my song:
- "To a Gentleman and Lady on the Death of the Lady's Brother and sister, and a Child of the Name of Avis, aged one Year."
- ON Death's domain intent I fix my eyes,
- "On the Death of Dr. Samuel Marshall. 1771."
- THROUGH thickest glooms look back, immortal shade,
- "To a Gentleman on His Voyage to Great-Britain, for the Recovery of His Health."
- WHILE others chant of gay Elysian scenes,
- "To the Rev. Dr. Thomas Amory on Reading His Sermons on Daily Devotion, in which that Duty is Recommended and Assisted."
- TO cultivate in ev'ry noble mind
- "On the Death of J. C. an Infant."
- NO more the flow'ry scenes of pleasure rife,
- "An Hymn to Humanity. To S. P. G. Esq."
- LO! for this dark terrestrial ball
- "To the Hon. T. H. Esq; on the Death of His Daughter."
- WHILE deep you mourn beneath the cypress–shade
- "To S. M. a Young African Painter, on seeing His Works."
- TO show the lab'ring bosom's deep intent,
- "To His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, on the Death of His Lady. March 24, 1773."
- ALL–Conquering Death! by thy resistless pow'r,
- "A Farewell to America. To Mrs. S. W."
- ADIEU, New–England's smiling meads,
- "A Rebus by I. B.
- A BIRD delicious to the taste,
- "An Answer to the Rebus, by the Author of these Poems."
- THE poet asks, and Phillis can't refuse