To A Stranger

I think this poem is about a man who had a previous relationship with someone but this relationship was frowned upon. The reasons I think this poem is about that are that it says the writer isn't allowed to speak of this relationship, only think about it. I also think this poem is about the writer seeing someone who reminds them of a previous lover or relationship. The line "I have surely lived a life of joy with you" is the reason I think that. There's a line that says "you grew up with me" so I think the person the writer had a relationship with could have been a childhood friend or something. Since this poem is about walking past a stranger who reminds the writer of someone else, and it says "you must be he I was seeking, or she I was seeking" I think it could mean that the previous relationship was either with a man, or a woman. If it was with a man, then the part about it being looked down upon makes sense. Homosexuality wasn't accepted in the 1800s. If it was with a woman then maybe their parents didn't approve or something. But overall this poem is about a stranger who brings back memories of a lover to the writer.