The speaker meets a gander and, with some surprise, feels recognized by it. The opening lines wobble between "was it me?" and "it was the gander," as if the speaker can't quite believe the bird has accepted him. From there the poem turns into a comic, half-serious comparison. Each expects the other to bring food, and neither gets it. The speaker thinks he's smarter, admits the gander has a livelier love life, and claims his own walk is more elegant, which sounds like a consolation prize.
The tone is dry and playful, but there's something tender underneath. Short lines and plain statements make the speaker sound like he's thinking out loud. The lines about "fear and caution" suggest a wariness that runs both ways. Still, the point lands in the line "we have lived in the same yard." The last two lines, "I am bigger. / He is whiter," are simple and funny, and they leave the two as equals, neighbours who have sized each other up and settled into an uneasy kinship.