The Poet

THE POET

Introduction:
This very short poem is an eloquent commentary on the role of poets in the affairs of a nation. They perform the same most important function in a nation's affairs as the eye does in the body. However, not all poets qualify for this honor. Only those do so who measure up to the standards laid down in the last three lines of this poem

Translation:
A nation is the body, people are its organs
Artisans are the nation's hands and feet

The State administration is the nation's beautiful face
The elegant-styled poet is the nation's clear-sighted eye

When any organ is afflicted with pain, the eye weeps
How sympathetic to the world body is the eye