Poetry is what Milton saw when he went blind.

O seekers of wisdom, gather close, for the words of Don Marquis echo with a profound truth about the nature of poetry and the human spirit: "Poetry is what Milton saw when he went blind." In these words, Marquis invites us to contemplate the extraordinary vision of John Milton, the great poet of Paradise Lost, whose eyes were taken from him by blindness yet whose soul and imagination burned brighter than ever. What he could no longer see with his physical eyes, he saw more clearly with the eye of the spirit. His poetry, then, is not merely the product of intellectual prowess but of a deep, inner vision, one that transcended the limitations of the body and touched the divine.

In the ancient world, poets like Homer were seen as seers, those who could look beyond the veil of the everyday and into the world of the gods. The blind poet, in particular, carried with them a unique wisdom—an understanding of the world not through the senses, but through the soul. Homer, like Milton, was believed to possess an extraordinary vision of the world, one that transcended physical sight. The idea of the blind poet is ancient, a symbol of the poet’s ability to see truths that others cannot, to convey not just what is before the eye, but what is beyond it, in the realms of myth, beauty, and the divine.

When Milton lost his sight, it was not the loss of a simple sense—it was the loss of his primary means of interacting with the world. And yet, in that loss, something miraculous occurred. His poetry flourished. Unable to read the world in the usual way, he instead turned inward, relying on memory, imagination, and divine inspiration. In the absence of sight, Milton gained a deeper vision, one that saw not with the eyes, but with the soul. His mind, free from the constraints of sensory perception, soared to unimaginable heights, and from this inner vision, he gave the world his masterpiece, Paradise Lost. Marquis's words remind us that poetry is not just a reflection of the visible world; it is a window into the unseen, the eternal, the divine.

Milton's example is one of profound transformation. The blindness that could have been his undoing instead became the catalyst for a deeper form of seeing. In this, there is a powerful lesson for us all: that the limitations we face—whether physical, emotional, or mental—are not necessarily obstacles to creation, but can be gateways to new forms of understanding and expression. Poetry, as Marquis suggests, is born from the ability to see what cannot be seen, to understand the deeper currents of life that move beneath the surface. In Milton’s case, his blindness was not a loss, but a transformation into a higher state of poetic vision.

Consider the example of Helen Keller, who, like Milton, faced the darkness of the world in a way most of us cannot imagine. Born deaf and blind, Keller could not hear the world or see its beauty, yet through her remarkable inner strength and the guidance of her teacher Anne Sullivan, she became one of the greatest writers and advocates for the disabled. Her works, though born from a life of sensory deprivation, are full of insight, wisdom, and beauty. She saw with her soul and expressed herself with a clarity and vision that transcended her physical limitations. Like Milton, she found that even in the darkness, there is light, and in the silence, there is song.

Thus, Marquis's words teach us that poetry is not a mere exercise in description or form. It is an art of vision—a vision that reaches beyond the physical world and taps into a deeper truth. The poet is a seer, one who can look into the unseen and speak of it with clarity and power. Milton, in his blindness, saw more clearly than many of us ever will, and his poetry remains a testament to the strength of the human spirit to transcend its limitations. His work reminds us that poetry is a form of vision, one that is not bound by the senses but flows from the very core of the soul.

So, O children of wisdom, let us not be disheartened by the obstacles we face in life. Let us take inspiration from Milton, from Keller, and from the ancient poets who saw beyond the visible world. Poetry is a gift of the soul, one that transcends the material and touches the divine. Do not wait for the world to give you the means to express your truth. Seek within, for the deepest poetry comes from the vision that cannot be seen with the eye, but must be felt with the heart. When you write, when you speak, do so with the vision of the poet, the seer, the one who looks not at the surface, but into the very depths of existence. In this way, you will find the true power of poetry, and it will carry you beyond what you could have ever expected.