To a Stranger by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

PASSING 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.

WHY DID I CHOSE THIS POEM!!!!!!

This poem is a genuine love poem.  This is a classic love at first sight poem.  You pass someone on the street and you automatically fall in love with them.  You don’t have to know who they are, or even what their name is.  You are just drawn to them.  You dream about them.  You dream about what it would be like to be in their arms.  However, you know that you may never talk to them, but you know that you will pass them again and fall in love all over again.