I Knew a Man By Sight
I knew a man by sight,
A blameless wight,
Who, for a year or more,
Had daily passed my door,
Yet converse none had had with him.
I met him in a lane,
Him and his cane,
About three miles from home,
Where I had chanced to roam,
And volumes stared at him, and he at me.
In a more distant place
I glimpsed his face,
And bowed instinctively;
Starting he bowed to me,
Bowed simultaneously, and passed along.
Next, in a foreign land
I grasped his hand,
And had a social chat,
About this thing and that,
As I had known him well a thousand years.
Late in a wilderness
I shared his mess,
For he had hardships seen,
And I a wanderer been;
He was my bosom friend, and I was his.
And as, methinks, shall all,
Both great and small,
That ever lived on earth,
Early or late their birth,
Stranger and foe, one day each other know.
- Henry David Thoreau
Analysis
This poem is quite the strange one. This talks about how two complete strangers become best friends. In this poem, there is a bit of metaphor and simile work going on but not so much. Although, Thoreau uses Allegory the most and its visible in this piece too. The main idea is how slowly by slowly, if you meet people enough, even complete strangers become best friends. This poem also sort of tries to teach friendship.