--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poems come from ordinary experiences and…" description: "\"Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to college; a newspaper photograp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec9/sharon-olds-8682_age_poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and_13537.jpg" --- # Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think… ![“Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to college; a newspaper photograph of war; a breast self-exam; the tooth fairy; Calvinist parents who beat up their children; a gesture of love; seeing oneself naked over age 50 in…” quote by Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec9/sharon-olds-8682_age_poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and_13537.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec9/sharon-olds-8682_age_poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and_13537.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec9/sharon-olds-8682_age_poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and_13537.jpg) > “Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to college; a newspaper photograph of war; a breast self-exam; the tooth fairy; Calvinist parents who beat up their children; a gesture of love; seeing oneself naked over age 50 in a set of bright hotel bathroom mirrors.” [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry draws on everyday moments and personal encounters, turning mundane or intimate details into artistic expression. **In simple terms:** Everyday life fuels poetic insight. Key Takeaway Ordinary experiences become poetic material. Themes Everyday life Intimacy Memory Violence Family dynamics Self-perception Mood Reflective Intimate Observant Type Personal Observational Narrative When to use this quote - Reflecting on a childhood memory - Observing a public event - Performing a health routine - Recalling a family tradition - Seeing oneself in a mirror Key Concepts Personal narrative Contrast Sensory detail Social critique Practical Applications - Creative writing workshops - Therapeutic journaling Questions to Reflect On - How do ordinary moments shape artistic voice? - What role does personal vulnerability play in poetry? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Back to college](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back-to-college/) [Bathroom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bathroom/) [Beats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beats/) [Breasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breasts/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Dresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dresses/) [Exam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exam/) [Fairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy/) [Gestures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestures/) [Hotel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hotel/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [My daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-daughter/) [Naked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naked/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Objects Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects-think-374719/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary Experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-experiences-357378/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poems Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-come-374718/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tooth fairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tooth-fairy/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Interestingly, simple and ordinary experiences often provide the most important learning opportunities we ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/interestingly-simple-and-ordinary-experiences-often-provide-the-most/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [To my mind, most people go through life recoiling from its best parts. They miss the enrichment that just a basic knowledge of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/to-my-mind-most-people-go-through-life-recoiling-from-its-best-parts/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-paint-objects-as-i-think-them-not-as-i-see-them/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The one thing we should address is how design can play a role in the psychological durability of objects, to think of how objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-wanders/the-one-thing-we-should-address-is-how-design-can-play-a-role-in-the/) [Marcel Wanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-wanders/) > [“The best objects to think with are words, because that is part of what words are for. Indeed, it is a condition for something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rogers-searle/the-best-objects-to-think-with-are-words-because-that-is-part-of-what/) [John Rogers Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rogers-searle/) > [I'm interested in people's relationship to objects, so I think a lot of my work is very tactile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arden/i-m-interested-in-people-s-relationship-to-objects-so-i-think-a-lot/) [Michael Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arden/) > [We're physical objects, we think of ourselves as these kind of free-floating brains, but the brain is such a little part. It's way smaller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-holbrook-pierson/we-re-physical-objects-we-think-of-ourselves-as-these-kind-of-free/) [Melissa Holbrook Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-holbrook-pierson/) > [The essays in The Great Taos Bank Robbery were my project to win a Master of Arts degree in English when I quit being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hillerman/the-essays-in-the-great-taos-bank-robbery-were-my-project-to-win-a/) [Tony Hillerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hillerman/) > [I did 'The Karate Kid,' then I just went back to college. I didn't know how much money it made and I didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-shue/i-did-the-karate-kid-then-i-just-went-back-to-college-i-didn-t-know/) [Elisabeth Shue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-shue/) > [A lot of people have warned President Clinton that Bosnia will turn into another Vietnam, which would be embarrassing for him because he'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/a-lot-of-people-have-warned-president-clinton-that-bosnia-will-turn/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [When I'm 40, too old to be a rock star, I plan to go back to college to study classical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-martin/when-i-m-40-too-old-to-be-a-rock-star-i-plan-to-go-back-to-college-to/) [Chris Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-martin/) > [After we finished touring 'Ignore The Ignorant' we had this perfect idea that we were going to take a couple of years off, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-jarman/after-we-finished-touring-ignore-the-ignorant-we-had-this-perfect/) [Ryan Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-jarman/) > [If I went back to college again, I'd concentrate on learning to write and to speak before an audience . Nothing is more important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/if-i-went-back-to-college-again-i-d-concentrate-on-learning-to-write/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [I have no urge to go back to college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cavallari/i-have-no-urge-to-go-back-to-college/) [Kristin Cavallari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cavallari/) > [What would be wrong with letting a kid go pro, and if it doesn't work out he can come back to college? What's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonny-vaccaro/what-would-be-wrong-with-letting-a-kid-go-pro-and-if-it-doesn-t-work/) [Sonny Vaccaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonny-vaccaro/) ## More by Sharon Olds > [There are some fine books and essays about that. Lewis Hyde has written about alcoholism and poets and the role that society gives its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/there-are-some-fine-books-and-essays-about-that-lewis-hyde-has/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm not asking a poem to carry a lot of rocks in its pockets. Just being an ordinary observer and liver and feeler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-not-asking-a-poem-to-carry-a-lot-of-rocks-in-its-pockets-just/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“How do they do it, the ones who make love without love? How do they come to the come to the come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/how-do-they-do-it-the-ones-who-make-love-without-love-how-do-they/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [She'd crack A joke sharp as a tin lid Hot from the teeth of the can-opener, And cackle her crack-corn laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/she-d-crack-a-joke-sharp-as-a-tin-lid-hot-from-the-teeth-of-the-can/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [If I wrote in a sonnet form, I would be distorting. Or if I had some great new idea for line breaks and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/if-i-wrote-in-a-sonnet-form-i-would-be-distorting-or-if-i-had-some/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Many poets write books. They'll tell you: Well, I've got my next book, but there are two poems I need to write, one about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/many-poets-write-books-they-ll-tell-you-well-i-ve-got-my-next-book/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“as if languagelessness was a step up, in evolution, from the chatter of consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/as-if-languagelessness-was-a-step-up-in-evolution-from-the-chatter-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Maybe we can use a metaphor for it, out of dance. I think for many years I was aware of the need, in dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-we-can-use-a-metaphor-for-it-out-of-dance-i-think-for-many/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Who wants to put together something that will bear some relationship to the vision or memory or experience or story or idea or dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/who-wants-to-put-together-something-that-will-bear-some-relationship/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeezed-it-then-i-lay-down-on-my/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“...the liquor like fire in his hand”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/the-liquor-like-fire-in-his-hand/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm probably so out of it at my age that I don't know what people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-probably-so-out-of-it-at-my-age-that-i-don-t-know-what-people/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“Some people think I should be over my ex by now — maybe I thought I might have been over him more by now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/some-people-think-i-should-be-over-my-ex-by-now-maybe-i-thought-i/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Maybe in order to understand sex fully/one has to risk being destroyed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-in-order-to-understand-sex-fully-one-has-to-risk-being/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“I've said that he and I had been crazy for each other. But maybe my ex and I were not crazy for each other.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-ve-said-that-he-and-i-had-been-crazy-for-each-other-but-maybe-my-ex/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) [Explore all 78 Sharon Olds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. 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