solitude

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 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;
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;;;