The speaker is caught up in a question most people recognize: what do other people really think of me? The poem opens with a run of questions about what others see, hear, and feel when the speaker enters a room or starts talking. From there it moves through scenes where the speaker is absent, such as leaving friends at a bar or being away from family, and imagines their names being mentioned, with "judgments and worries" attached. Even eye contact with a woman becomes a puzzle, since the speaker can't tell whether she sees "anger and deception" or "kindness and honesty."
The mood is anxious and self-conscious at first, with the short, repeated questions giving it a restless feel. The ending shifts. The speaker looks into the mirror, forgets everyone else, and walks forward "with confidence." The poem seems to suggest that since we can never know what others think, the only option is to face ourselves and carry on anyway.