The main idea of this poem is how people from different times are connected to each other by their everyday lifestyle, emotions, feelings they experience and observations they make. Whitman shows the everyday lifestyle of people in New York and suggests that people in the future will live similar lives and feel the same emotions. In the poem, he describes moments like crossing the river, watching the city, and being part of a crowd. He is not only describing what he sees around him, but he is also speaking to people who will experience these same things many years later. When I relate this poem to myself, I feel like Whitman is speaking directly to me, and I also feel that I am living a similar life to the one he lived. Whitman says, “It avails not, time nor place—distance avails not,” which shows that even though time changes, human feelings, emotions, and doubts remain the same. This makes it clear that even if we are not physically connected, we are still connected through the emotions and experiences we share while living in the city.

Whitman repeats phrases like “just as you” many times to compare his life with the lives of people in the future, which makes clear that the reader’s feelings and experiences in the city is same as his own.  He talks about people on the ferry, river, the city, and everyday movements to show how meaningful life can be. By describing such small details about city, Whitman helps  me to understand and relate myself even though time changes, people continue to live similar lives and experience similar emotions.