If the guest is unable to perform the glorious deed of composing he is considered less than noble. But having been praised in verse, the hosts must return the gift with poetry of equal or greater value, or else they too lose face. A potentially unending production of poetry is thus generated through reciprocity. One of the most common poetic forms is the zamil, a poem with two lines, each of which is divided roughly into two parts and usually ends in a rhyming word. The audience criticises the imitation if it finds it wanting.
Interpretation is a private matter.
People react to a poem's meaning by laughing, composing another poem in response, keeping silent etc. In Yemen today, poetry is the intellectual nectar which nourishes society and turns the past into a living reality.