Solitude

 
                                               Solitude

Ella  Wheeler Wilcox  (1855-1919)


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.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
     For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
    Through the narrow aisles of pain.