Lyric Poem · Life

Solitude

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox · 1883

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 nectar'd 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 large and lordly train,

But one by one we must all file on

Through the narrow aisles of pain.

This poem is in the public domain.

“Solitude” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox — quilloak.com/poems/solitude-ella-wheeler-wilcox

Lyric Poem Rhyming Poems Life Sad Strength

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