Walt Whitman 2

To A STRANGER
by: Walt Whitman

ASSING stranger! you do not know how longingly I look upon you,

You must be he I was seeking, or she I was seeking, (it comes to me as of a dream,)

I have somewhere surely lived a life of joy with you,

All is recall'd as we flit by each other, fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured,

You grew up with me, were a boy with me or a girl with me,

I ate with you and slept with you, your body has become not yours only nor left my body mine only,

You give me the pleasure of your eyes, face, flesh, as we pass, you take of my beard, breast, hands, in return,

I am not to speak to you, I am to think of you when I sit alone or wake at night alone,

I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again,

I am to see to it that I do not lose you










I chose this poem, because its all about the what if. He talks about the memories that could be made if he was friends or neighbors or married with the person. How one little encounter with this person could keep you up all night thinking of them, or even dreaming of them. How this person could have a negative or positive affect on your day, or life. But in the end the stranger will just pass by and the thoughts of what if will eventually fade.