James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | February 7 | Pio Nono | By Julia Ward Howe (18191910) |
| (Died Feb. 7, 1878) THOU shouldst 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 shouldst 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 shouldst have had more faith! the voice of Christ | |
Called thee to meet him, walking on the wave; | 10 |
Thou shouldst 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 heedst 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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