When I Met Whitman Poem by Laurence Overmire

We didn't recognize each other at first
It takes a while before the knowing
Settles in
And makes itself comfortable

But something in the words
That passed between us
Made us realize who we were

Brothers on the same journey

We felt the wounds of the world
Wrapped in the insufficient bandages
Of so many blood-stained conflicts
When differences refuse to be bridged

With love

When we shook hands—Whitman and I
We made our worlds a better place
At least there were two of us now
Who understood

And so, good stranger, if you see Whitman
Walking down the road
And he seems a little odd, a little weird
Don't judge him too harshly

Before you get a chance to really hear
What he has to say
The truth beneath the surface of the
Illusion

The dream that awakens in the opening
Of one's heart.

~ Laurence Overmire