Poems of Passion — 67 - Solitude

[Illustration:] SOLITUDE.

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.