To A STRANGER

by: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

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.

Smiles are my favorite part of a person.
And yours
Yours makes a room two thousand times brighter

Eyes are the most beautiful part of a person
And yours
Yours make my heart skip a beat

Lips are the most enticing part of a person
And yours
Yours make my lips tingle just at the thought of kissing you

You are the best kind of person
And you
You are what makes me get out of bed in the morning

I fear the fright of every man,
One that can't be helped or canned,
The feelings inside me start to bubble,
Again and again I feel nothing but troubled,
It hurts to say and I hate to show,
But sad as it is, my weakness grows,
It's hard to act or find the words,
The fear inside can't be cured,
Everyone has  insecurities,
Some get choked up or even freeze,
The Lord tells us "be happy and do not fear",
But thats not easy when he isnt standing here,
So what is the fright of every man?
Is it a lack of love from his clan?
Is it a fear of flying high,
Only to fall and eventually die?
Some are frightened at the sight of spiders,
But real fear is known by those spun like tires,
Round and round there lives have gone,
But what will it be like at the final dawn?
As the old turn and start to go dreary,
We can only feel bad that they are so weary
When they breathe the final breath of life,
Will all they worked for be cut up with a knife?
The biggest fear of every man
Is what will be left when he can no longer stand,
Will years be wasted and spent in the dark,
Or can you do something and be a spark?
Life needs to be spent with kindness and class,
But do what u can to make your memory last

If you are uncomfortable when you look in the mirror,
keep in mind:
We spent thousands of years
trying to convince the earth
she was flat.

We wrote her maps as evidence of the things we saw;
and she believed them.
She cried tsunamis, and had earthquake breakdowns.

Keep in mind: the Sun never gave up hope.
The earth will keep spinning and breathing
the star-dusty space void of encouragement.

Next time you look in the mirror
and second-guess your potential divinity,
remember you will keep shining and living.

Because the Sun is out there
believing in you,
compensating for lack of the human capacity
to treat each other empathically.

You don’t need proof or approval
to be exactly what you are;
Eventually everyone will see
your infinite beauty.