Inaugural Poet Talks to Anderson Cooper

Richard Blanco, the first openly gay and Latino man to deliver the inaugural poem, said his experience at the ceremony actually felt very intimate.

"That sense of that America, that I've always, as a little kid, fantasized about — all those ideals came to life at that moment," he said.

Blanco told CNN's Anderson Cooper that he thought it was also amazing to hear President Obama's LGBT-inclusive speech as he sat just a few feet away.

"In Maine, recently, they passed the gay marriage act, and it's just such an incredible validation," he said. "My partner and I, we've been together for 12 years, and to hear that same echo today was just an amazing experience."

Watch the video below:

And watch Blanco's poem below: