Nezahualcoyotl ( 1402 - 1472 ) was king of Texcoco , a part of the Aztec empire . Nezahualcoyotl ( , , meaning `` Coyote in fast '' or `` Coyote who Fasts '' ) ( April 28 , 1402 -- June 4 , 1472 ) was a philosopher , warrior , architect , poet and ruler ( tlatoani ) of the city-state of Texcoco in pre-Columbian Mexico . Unlike other high-profile Mexican figures from the century preceding the Spanish Conquest , Nezahualcoyotl was not an Aztec ; his people were the Acolhua , another Nahuan people settled in the eastern part of the Valley of Mexico , settling on the eastern side of Lake Texcoco .