| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | February 7 | | Pio Nono | | By Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910) |
| | (Died Feb. 7, 1878)
THOU should’st have had more faith! thy hand did shed | |
| The seed of Freedom in the field of God, | |
| But the last peril drove thee from thy bounds, | |
| And stranger feet the unripe harvest trod. | |
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| Thou should’st have had more faith! thy crown was hung | 5 |
| High-pitched, upon a sharp and thorny tree; | |
| We saw thee wrestle bravely with the boughs, | |
| But the last buffet did dishearten thee. | |
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| Thou should’st have had more faith! the voice of Christ | |
| Called thee to meet him, walking on the wave; | 10 |
| Thou should’st have trod the waters as a path, | |
| Such power divine thy holy mission gave. | |
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| Shoreward thy recreant footsteps turn and sink; | |
| In vain the heavenly voice, the outstretched arm, | |
| Thou heed’st not, though a God doth beckon thee, | 15 |
| Binding the billows with a golden charm. | |
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| Where glory should have crowned thee, failure whelms, | |
| Truth judges thee, that should have made thee great; | |
| Thine is the doom of souls that cannot bring | |
| Their highest courage to their highest fate. | 20 | | | |
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