Solitude – Full Text Of The Poem By Ella Wheeler Wilcox
SOLITUDE – In this topic, we are going to read the full text of the poem Solitude written by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
As mentioned above, it was written by Ella Wheler Wilcox. It is her most famous poem.
Its idea came when she was travelling to Madison, Wisconsin. On her way there, she saw a young woman dressed in black sitting across the aisle from her who was crying.
Wilcox sat near her and aimed to comfort her for the rest of the journey. Upon arrival, she was unhappy that she could barely attend the festivities. As she looked at her own face in the mirror, she remembered the crying woman. This inspired her to write the poem.
Here is the ful text of the poem uplifted from Family Friends Poems:
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 large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.
READ ALSO: Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep – Poem By Mary Elizabeth Frye