'I feel a poem coming on.' Editor: fyn 
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You can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what's in your heart. ~~Carol Ann Duffy
Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought, and the thought has found words. ~~Robert Frost
Poetry is the mother-tongue of the human race. ~~Johann Georg Hamann
Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history. ~~ Plato
Take your materials from what is around you—if you see a dandelion, write about that; if it’s misty, write about the mist. ~~Masaoka Shiki
Every single soul is a poem. ~~Michael Franti
Poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and making music with them. ~~Dennis Gabor
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When I was sixteen, a reporter named Ron Stepneski from The Bergen Record interviewed me about my writing. When he asked 'the inevitable' question about where I got my ideas or inspiration, I answered, "I 'd feel a poem coming on." Which I, of course, would then write. When his article was published, 'I feel a poem coming on.' was the headline. Boy, did I ever get teased about that!
Nevertheless, it was a true statement. An odd clump of flowers growing together from the top of a gravestone, the scent of the first snow, the first time I saw a dead body, and the joy of seeing my folks after not seeing them for a month--these all sparked a poem at some time or another during my life. Others were inspired by a night lost inside the catacombs in Rome, another night, locked inside the The Louvre, and the day-and-a-half I and three other people were stuck in an elevator. (I clearly had a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time!)
Odd titles, weird conjunctions of time or place, and odd facts all contributed. My hubby and I joke that I am a veritable font of useless trivia. I kind of collect it. (My daughter says 'I collect collections!') These days, I'll scribble down a partial thought, saying 'there's a poem in there somewhere.' I did it Monday when I wrote down 'the things we never say out loud' during a funny moment when I opted NOT to say something to my hubby that he would not have found funny, although, personally, I thought it was hilarious. It became my poem for the Promptly Poetry Challenge. I still think it would be a great idea for a book title--now I just have to come up with the story the book would be about!
I keep bits of trivia in a notebook. (As I said previously, I collect them.) These specifically are all courtesy of Reader's Digest. Perhaps they may spark a poem for you! At the very least, you might learn something new. And, as it is said, '“No day in which you learn something is a complete loss.” ~~David Eddings
Think that immortality is just a fantasy? Well, it is for humans. But scientists have discovered that the Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish can basically live forever. How? It can revert back to its juvenile polyp stage after maturing, continuing in an endless cycle. Technically, it can live forever—if it doesn’t get snatched up by a hungry fish first!
Try to find the word for more than one octopus. Many people think the right plural form is octopi, based on the Latin; but because the word also has Greek roots, others believe it should be the very strange octopodes. No one says that, however, so English grammarians have settled on octopuses as the first choice for the pluralization of octopus. According to Merriam-Webster, though, you can keep using octopi if you prefer.
High heels have become such an icon of stereotypical femininity that many women feel an outfit is incomplete without them. But this ultra-girly symbol was first invented for men. Persian fighters started the high-heel trend in the 10th century because it helped their feet fit better in stirrups while riding horses. The shoes were mostly considered masculine fashion until the mid-18th century, when women claimed them.
Ever wondered what mating tortoises sound like? No? Well, as it turns out, you probably know anyhow—that is, if you've seen any of the Jurassic Park movies. Prepare to ace movie-trivia night with this wild bit of news: "It's somewhat embarrassing, but when the raptors bark at each other to communicate, it's a tortoise having sex," the sound designer confessed.
Cleopatra, the last active ruler of Egypt, was born around 69 B.C. The Great Pyramids of Giza were finished around 2500 B.C., about 2,430 years earlier. Cellphones debuted in 1983, so 2,052 years after Cleopatra’s birth.
The tallest known mountain in the solar system, known as the Olympus Mons, is found on Mars. The shield volcano is so big that if you were at the peak, you wouldn't realize you were even on a mountain—it would seem as if you were standing on a gently sloping plain. Its base is the size of Arizona, and the highest point is over 16 miles tall (Everest is 5.5 miles above sea level).
Here's a crazy science fact you never learned in school: The average giraffe's neck is 6 feet, while a human's neck averages just 4 inches. Yet both of us have the same number of bones in our necks: seven.
Oxford University began teaching students as early as 1096. The Aztec civilization as we know it began around 1325 with the founding of Tenochtitlán. That makes Oxford more than 200 years older than the Aztec Empire. Despite this, many associate the Aztecs with ancient history and Oxford with modern education.
So, there you go! Hopefully these may seed some ideas, or, at least, you learned something new!
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Poetry: July 01, 2026 Issue [#13822]