Are you the new person drawn toward me?

“A Glimpse” by Walt Whitman (1860)

Published in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass, “A Glimpse” gives readers an intimate look at the relationship between two lovers. Set in a noisy bar filled with workmen gathering around a stove to stay warm in the winter weather, the poem zooms in on the connection between two individuals, who need only hold hands and not say a word to feel close to one another.

“Gliding O’er All” by Walt Whitman (1900)

While “Are you the new person drawn toward me?” focuses on the relationship between two individuals, “Gliding O’er All” assesses the relationship of the individual soul with the rest of the world. In “Are you the new person drawn toward me?” the two individuals are separate from one another and misread one another while in “Gliding O’er All” the soul is interconnected with all things as it makes its journey through life.

“I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing” by Walt Whitman (1892)

This particular Whitman poem appeared in the last edition of Leaves of Grass published in 1892. Similar to the previous two poems mentioned here, Whitman focuses on the concept of human connection.