Great Words

"Laugh and the world laughs with you,
Weep and you weep alone,
For this brave old earth must borrow its mirth,
It has sorrow enough of its own.
Sing and the hills will answer,
Sigh! it is lost in the air,
The echoes do bound a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.
Rejoice and the men will seek you,
Grieve and they turn and go,
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not want your woe.
Be glad and your friends are many,
Be sad and you lose them all,
There is none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must feast 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 one 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."

-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox.