“O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea,
Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free”
George Gordon Byron (1788–1824) English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement
Canto I, stanza 1.
The Corsair (1814)
Context: O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea,
Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free,
Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam, 22
Survey our empire, and behold our home!
These are our realms, no limit to their sway,—
Our flag the sceptre all who meet obey.