Solitude

Do you ever find that a poem, piece of writing, a song lyric will resonate with you one day and on another day will have no impact?  A word, a phrase, a memory will trigger a need to read the entire poem, read the entire passage or listen to that song?

“Sing and the hills will answer:

Sigh it is lost on the air;”

These lines have been reverberating in my mind for the last few days until last night when I decided to start a search to find the poem from which they come.  This time I didn’t want to use a google search.  I don’t know why but it seemed important to browse through poetry books and books of “sayings and quotes” to find the source.

Gloves on, large pot of tea, that in itself was strange, and I gathered together some poetry books.  It an skin intolerance to paper I have had to  remove nearly 90% of my books. However, there were some which I had to keep among them some poetry books.

It was an inexplicably comforting to browse through these books.  It didn’t feel as if I was the only one wide awake and on a search which began at a little after 2.00am.  It felt just right.  There were many stops along this search when I was reacquainted with long forgotten poems.

I found “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann again.  This was a popular prose poem when I was in secondary school in the 1970’s do you remember the opening lines? “Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.”

With the dawn beginning to appear and a fresh brew, coffee this time, I started to look into what has become a well-thumbed book  The title of the book?  “A Poem for Every Day of the Year” edited by Allie Esiri.  This was one of two poetry books given to me a few years ago.  A well-chosen gift by a friend who knows of my love of poetry.  With this book and its sister book “A Poem For Every Night of the Year, I have become reacquainted with some old forgotten poetry but also, I have been introduced to new poems and poets. 

I found those lines which had been rattling around in my head, “Laugh and the world laughs with you” as I wandered through the book “A Poem for Every Day of the Year.  The American poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox has given me just a few hours of nurture when all around was sleeping.

The following is an excerpt.

“Solitude” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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, it is lost on the air;

The echoes bound to a joyful sound,

But shrink from voicing care.