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 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 aisle of pain.