Dikt; Solitude av Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
 Weep, and you weep alone.
 For the sad old earth must borrow it's 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 aisles of pain.