ARE you the new person drawn toward me?
To begin with, take warning--I am surely far different from what you
suppose;
Do you suppose you will find in me your ideal?
Do you think it so easy to have me become your lover?
Do you think the friendship of me would be unalloy'd satisfaction?
Do you think I am trusty and faithful?
Do you see no further than this façade--this smooth and tolerant
manner of me?
Do you suppose yourself advancing on real ground toward a real heroic
man?
Have you no thought, O dreamer, that it may be all maya, illusion?
I did not like this poem very much because it almost sound as if he is trying to make her think he's not trustworthy or the material that she may be looking for.
I think that one reason I like this poem is because it is about love, but isn't talking about it in the usual sense. Whitman in this poem is not talking about his love for someone else, he is talking about the possibility of someone else loving him. I like the feeling of confidence in this poem. You have to be fairly confident in your writing to write something that you aren't sure of. I also like the idea of warning someone that they might not be all that they are hoping for.
In this poem, he is telling a girl that if she tries to get with him she is in for a big surprise. He tells her how he is not at all how he appears, and that his looks are deceiving, and her expectations are unreal.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Whitman may have been well enough known when writing this poem to have experienced a 'groupie' or two looking to adopt him as the fullfillment of their own aspirations. If so, this is a needed bucket of cold water tossed on their delusions.