“As by the shore at break of day”

Thomas Moore (1779–1852)

AS by the shore, at break of day,

A vanquished chief expiring lay,

Upon the sands, with broken sword,

He traced his farewell to the free;

And there the last unfinished word

He dying wrote, was “Liberty!”

At night a sea-bird shrieked the knell

Of him who thus for freedom fell:

The words he wrote, ere evening came,

Were covered by the sounding sea;—

So pass away the cause and name

Of him who dies for liberty!