I was reflecting on what wealth ultimately settled within me from my encounter with the poet and his work. I did not take long to recognize it.

First of all, it was the profound understanding of things. His hatred for tyranny. His patriotism. His passion for defending his personal and national freedom. His creative solitude. His love for children, even though he had no children of his own. His deep love for poetry.

The painstaking development of his technique. The pursuit of perfection. His pledges: "The nation must learn to consider as national whatever is true." His verses, which come spontaneously to the lips, and especially that remarkable one, which has followed me step by step throughout my life since I memorized it: "Always open, always vigilant are the eyes of my soul."

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]