It began with the idioms
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"See the forest before the trees,"
Which means: Foresight
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"Don't play with fire,"
Which means: Reckless
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"The writing is on the wall"
Which means: Disaster
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Then, someone said,
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"I have seen the forest before the trees
Where men play with red embers of flame
And wrote their fates upon the wall."
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And voila! The first poem was born.