The poem portrays a man mourning upon a perfect girl he will never see again. The opening lines introduce the girl he “met the other day” (2) and first describes her as the “girl with the shining legs” when he sees her in the subway (3). He realizes that “she goes her way And I go mine” knowing they will never meet again (4,5). Knowing this, he feels “sad though I don’t know why” (6). This thought carries on in his mind and describes an escalator carrying her away as “a river--a flower to the sea”(8). He stands there “crucified to families duties” (9) and “transfixed” (10) at his inability to go after her.