Think as I Think

One of my favorite poems is "Think as I Think, Said a Man" by Stephen Crane. I love the message of it, but there is another reason I love this poem:

"Think as I think," said a man,
"Or you are abominably wicked;
You are a toad."
And after I had thought of it,
I said, "I will, then, be a toad."

What I truly love about it is the fourth line. I picture Stephen Crane at a party, filling his plate from the shrimp platter. A man comes up to him and says, "Think as I think, or you are abominably wicked; you are a toad."

Stephen mmphs a "Whatever you say" around a mouthful of prawn, and the man laughs and walks away. Later that night, on the way home, Stephen shouts, "I will, then, be a toad. Man, that would have been awesome."