"To You."

This poem, "To You", is another one of Walt Whitman's poems that is extremely short.

"If you passing meet me, and desire to speak to me, why
should you not speak to me?
And why should I not speak to you?"

The meaning of the poem is very simple. Whitman is questioning the way that people treat each other, especially strangers. He is wondering why people do not address others when they see each other unexpectedly, and why they prefer to stick to themselves and not interact with each other. People still do this today in our society, so it is not just a thing of the past. In current times, most people still do not say hello to strangers (probably mostly because we live in a pretty scary, messed up world) and even if we see someone that we actually know, there is a good chance they will not really interact with each other very much. It is a lot easier to just say hello and then walk away and sometimes it's not convenient to say nothing at all.

In "Review of 'Leaves of Grass", Observer says that the poems in Whitman's book are highly critiqued but still remarkable (Observer). The author also makes remarks on Whitman's idea of "Self", something that Whitman brings up a lot in his poems and ties a lot of things back to (Observer). In "To You", there was no real mention of "Self", but I think that was only because the poem is so short and so simple. There was no focus on God or anything like that because it is a little poem that is just about the nature of humans and they way that they interact with each other, or more specifically, the way that they do not interact with each other. The author also notes how "Self" seems to be missing from just a few of the poems, and I am assuming that "To You" is one of those peoms he is referring to. This critic seemed to be a big fan of Whitman, which is a pleasant change. Although I am not very fond of his writing, I also think that some people were too harsh with their opinions of him and his works, mostly because he addresses topics that are pretty touchy, like homosexuality and sex. Observer focused more on Whitman's style than the issues that were addressed, and I think that was needed. Although I do not like Whitman's style at all, I think that it is important for critics to focus on style of writing instead of just the contact.

Observer. "[Review of Leaves of Grass (1867)]." Massachusetts Weekly Spy (2 November 1866): 1.

Whitman, Walt. "TO YOU. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .