The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Poet \Po"et\, n. [F. po["e]te, L. po["e]ta, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to
   make. Cf. Poem.]
   One skilled in making poetry; one who has a particular genius
   for metrical composition; the author of a poem; an
   imaginative thinker or writer.
   [1913 Webster]

         The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
         Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven.
                                                  --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

         A poet is a maker, as the word signifies. --Dryden.
   [1913 Webster]

   Poet laureate. See under Laureate.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

poet
    n 1: a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers
         of good poetry)