The wonderful thing about writing is that there is no ceiling. WE can always strive for a new vision. I wish that professor had done more than chuckled at my response to his question. I wish he'd inspired me to want to read. Yes, it's wonderful to share your work, to try it out, to hear the sounds coming off your tongue.
Poetry is, after all, an oral tradition.
Don't forget to read other poets aloud, or silent. Read the dead, the living, and the living dead. Hear the rhythms in your voice. Galway Kinnell insists that all of his graduate students memorize a poem to recite in each class. When I first started writing seriously, I was influenced by W.B. Yeats, Frost, and the romantics.