Attitude not solitude

The first line of this poem is well known, yet possibly the title "Solitude" is not. The poem was written by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919). She reminds us how important it is to have a "joyful" attitude

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 it's 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.


Author.Ella Wheeler Wilcox "Solitude." Women's History: Poems by Women. Jone Johnson Lewis, editor. URL: http://womenshistory.about.com/library/etext/bl_wilcox_solitude.htm (17th November 2009)