What we are drawn to is Illusion

Are you the new person drawn toward me?
by Walt Whitman

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?


My reflection on Walt Whitman's poem: 

Are You the One Drawn Toward Me?

(after Walt Whitman)

Are you the one drawn toward me?
Take heed—what you see here is merely an outline,
A sketch of some idea you had once 
about who you thought I might be.

Do you think you'll find in me your missing piece,
The puzzle's last corner that snaps into place?
Do you think you’ve stumbled upon a wellspring of wisdom,
a fountain of clarity to sip from at your leisure?

Perhaps you’ve imagined I’m a steady ship in calm waters,
or a lighthouse, always anchored to its rock,
but I am more like driftwood, floating aimlessly,
carried along by currents I don't fully understand.

Do you think my words are untainted by doubt,
that my jokes are without an edge?
Or that the laughter I offer is untouched by tears
that have soaked into the wood of this desk where I write?

Do you imagine yourself stepping onto firm ground,
A place where you can rest, assured of your path?
Have you no thought, O curious traveler,
that this road may wind in circles, that the signs are faded,
and that I might be just as lost as you?

But come closer anyway, if you dare—
bring your questions, your hopes, and all your small certainties.
We’ll sit together and marvel at the gaps in our knowledge,
and perhaps, in that shared bewilderment,
we’ll find a song that feels a lot like love.

(first revision)

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