I have to admit that the first few times I read this poem I ddn't like it, simply for the reason that I didn't understand it. However after I shut off the iTunes, shut my bedroom door, and turned my cellphone on silent and really read the poem I realized I really liked the message that Whitman was expressing.
I understood the poem as Whitman wondering what he is to the strangers he sees in the crowds of people and who he is to them. Overall he belives that these strangers and him are seeing the same thing in each other which makes them connected in some way. Continuing on in the poem he describes how people have seen and felt essentially the same things throughout the past and present and will continue to do so for years to come.
I too have thought about the very same thing that Whitman has written about. This is usually during times when I am alone and walking through a large crowd similar to what I picture Whitman was doing while writing his poem. Typically when I think about this topic I imagine people around my own age walking on campus years earlier or years in the future. Obviously years prior to myself walking on campus there were no cellphones, laptops, ipods, etc. What I am more curious about is what people will be doing, wearing, and using in the future years across Clarkson's campus. Not to mention that the campus may change drastically, who is to say that in 100 years Snell will be still there or if it will be taken over by yet another dining hall? That may be a bit drastic but it is something to think about. Overall I feel as though many people have these same thoughts about the past, present and future, and that Whitman's poem can be easily related to various groups of people.
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