To a Stranger. - A poem by Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman - To a Stranger.

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.

Added: on April 19th, 2007 at 5:02 PM | Viewed: 9617 times | Comments and analysis of To a Stranger. by Walt Whitman Comments (12)

To a Stranger. - Comments and Information
Poet: Walt Whitman Poem: 18. To a Stranger. Volume: Leaves of Grass - 3. Calamus Year: Published/Written in 1900 Comment 12 of 12, added on December 13th, 2007 at 2:46 PM. In Walt Whitman’s “The Leaves of Grass” there is cluster of a series of 45 poems called Calamus, which work to celebrate and promote a theme of love. Out of that cluster, in “To a Stranger” by Walt Whitman, Whitman expresses a general sense of longing directed at the world in general. And Whitman’s nostalgic for past relationships and his conscious of having his feelings of affection reciprocated by everyone he walks past allows him to know that ultimately he will find love. In “To A Stranger”, Whitman not only alludes to the love between a man and a woman but to the beautiful and sane affection between a man and a man. Through the motif of genders, sexual innuendos, the repetition of “I am” and the overall sense of secrecy throughout the poem, reveals Whitman’s inner conflicts with his sexuality and his yearning to want to tell and express his sexuality openly without restrictions imposed by society. Lou from United States Comment 11 of 12, added on August 24th, 2007 at 11:05 AM. I think he's talking to the world, to everybody. Whitman usually talks about this kind of theme, the man as a center of the Earth Cadu from Brazil Comment 10 of 12, added on April 19th, 2007 at 5:02 PM. this poem is about loss i think because it says "i am not to speak to you, i am to think of you when i sit alone or wake at night alone" so he's talking about never forgetting the people you loved that you lose. they'll always live on in your memories, that kind of thing. Kate from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, To a Stranger., has received 12 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Walt Whitman with others on the American Poems poetry forum!

Poem Info
Poet: Walt Whitman Poem: 18. To a Stranger. Volume: Leaves of Grass - 3. Calamus Year: Published/Written in 1900 Last read: May 18 2008, 12:02AM Viewed 9617 times. Added on April 19th, 2007 at 5:02 PM.

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