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, and it will lost in 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 you 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 you alone must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is no 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.

Stolen, not written. :)