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