A slightly more serious thought about poetry

Yes, language is a tool, and poets, novelists, editorialists, essaysists, and would be philosophers wield it for various manipulative purposes.  When that tool is meant to be a window to the world, which words can truly never be, I wonder to what extent the imagery in poetry is meant to create a sense of yearning - because the images poetry creates cannot be as vivid as those we actually experience with all our senses - because words by their very nature destroy individuality - to what extent is imagery meant to create a yearning for the experience?