Ella Wheeler Wilcox - Solitude (aka Laugh, and the world laughs with you)
Channel: PoetryProse Project
Date: 2015-02-19

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 large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
    Through the narrow aisles of pain.

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Read by Kate Mayne @MayneKate- http://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/9765-1208-1142

Legally tedious but important copyright notice - we own the copyright in this performance, Kate was hired by us, and of course the wonderful Ella Wheeler Wilcox is out of copyright.