The Poet

The Poet is Womack's thirteenth studio album. He produced it himself, with Otis Smith as executive producer, and it was recorded at Kendun Recorders in Burbank and at Hit City West in Los Angeles. Jim Ford co-wrote three of the eight songs.

The album reached the top of the Billboard Top Black Albums chart on the strength of "If You Think You're Lonely Now". The Guardian's obituary says The Poet and The Poet II moved Womack into the modern soul pioneered by Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross, and that both were critical and commercial successes. Alexis Petridis wrote that the Poet albums are potent because of the contrast between their slick production and the rasp of Womack's voice.

Pitchfork's Tarisai Ngangura reviewed the album on its 2021 reissue alongside The Poet II and wrote that Womack delivers beautiful range, in his lyrics and melodies, in under 40 minutes. In 2024 Sebastian Zabel of Rolling Stone Germany called it "one of the few outstanding soul albums of the eighties".