Thoughts ~

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

Solitude, Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)

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When the soul is o'ershadowed with gloom,
With sorrow, and sadness, and care;
When the future seems dark as the tomb,
And the present a gulf of despair;

When life seems a desolate blight,
A burden we loathe every day;
When hope swiftly wingeth its flight,
And pleasure doth vanish away;

When the soul broods in sorrow alone,
And chides its unchangeable fate;
When the heart seems congealing to stone,
'Neath misfortune's unbearable weight — 

Perchance a sweet, innocent child
Has pressed on your pale cheek a kiss,
And said, "How I love you!" and smiled
With a look of ineffable bliss.

Or perchance an affectionate wife
Has bid you hope on to the end;
Or your hand has been grasped mid the strife
In the warm-hearted clasp of a friend.

When beautiful, eloquent eyes
Look tenderly down on your own;
When hearts with your own sympathise,
And show you, you are not alone;

What a beam of ineffable light,
What a soul-thrilling, heart-cheering ray
Disperses the gloom of the night,
And turns all your darkness to day.

How it gives you new courage and hope,
And lightens your burden of care;
Gives you strength with affliction to cope,
And bids you no longer despair.

(Light in the darkness - George Heath)