"Solitude" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Solitude

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Laugh, and the world laughs with you,

     Weep, and you weep alone;

For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,

     But has trouble enough of its own.

Sing, and the hills will answer;

     Sigh, it is lost on the air;

The echoes bound to a joyful sound,

     But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;

     Grieve, and they turn and go;

They want full measure of all your pleasure,

     But they do not need your woe.

Be glad, and your friends are many;

     Be sad, and you lose them all, -

There are none to decline your nectared wine,

     But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;

     Fast, and the world goes by.

Succeed and give, and it helps you live,

     But no man can help you die.

For there is room in the halls of pleasure

     For a large and lordly train,

But one by one we must all file on

     Through the narrow aisles of pain.