In Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, by Whitman, the speaker not only elegantly describes a ferry ride, but tries to bring the speaker closer to him in his time period. The speaker brings the reader closer to himself by describing himself and the scene, and by speaking directly to the reader. In this poem, the speaker refers to his dark times and is very honest with us. I feel that he is trying to relate with us and show us how similar we are despite the time difference. He also brings us closer to him through his many details of the ferry ride as well. He almost makes you feel like you are apart of the ferry ride with him because of the way that he describes how the light reflects off of his head in the river, the “oscillating” seagulls and the sailing ships. I enjoyed these details a lot and they bring soothing images to my mind.

The speaker tries to break through the fabric of time and put us next to him on that ferryboat by also referring to us many at times. He is constantly telling that we are important to him and always on his mind. He even puts himself next to the reader when he says  “Who knows, for all the distance I am as good as looking at you now, for all you cannot see me.”(7:8-9) Out of all of the lines in the poem, this line sticks out to me the most. I felt that the speaker was talking directly to me. These lines made me realize that the speaker was trying to connect with the readers, and bring us closer to him.