Who Cares?

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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.