On the street we two pass.
I do not know you.
I did not see
if you are—
fat/thin,
dark/fair,
young/old.
If we should pass again
within the hour,
I would not know it.
Yet—
I am committed to
love you.
You are part of my city,
my universe, my being.
If you were not here
to pass me by,
a piece would be missing
from my jigsaw-puzzle day.
Therefore—
I am committed to
love you deeply.
Originally published in the Christian Science Monitor of December 9, 1969, this poem appeared in Margaret Tsuda’s Cry love aloud in 1972.
newarkpoems 
This is a beautiful affirmation of the city and its ability to bind together otherwise unrelated people and make them special companions to each other – whether they know it or not, simply because they share the same space. It’s a sentiment Walt Whitman celebrated about America and especially American cities.
LikeLike