--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A collected poems' is either a gravestone…" description: "\"A collected poems' is either a gravestone or a testimonial to survival.\" — Al Purdy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/al-purdy-39939_gravestone_a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone_779762.png" --- # A collected poems' is either a gravestone or a testimonial… ![“A collected poems' is either a gravestone or a testimonial to survival.” quote by Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/al-purdy-39939_gravestone_a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone_779762.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/al-purdy-39939_gravestone_a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone_779762.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/al-purdy-39939_gravestone_a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone_779762.png) > “A collected poems' is either a gravestone or a testimonial to survival.” [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects that a poetry collection either serves as a memorial or as evidence of endurance. **In simple terms:** Poetry can be a grave or a testament of survival. Key Takeaway Create works that honor memory and demonstrate resilience. Themes literature memory survival art Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - memorial services - creative workshops - archival projects Key Concepts legacy testimony Questions to Reflect On - How can poetry balance remembrance with hope? - In what ways does art testify to survival? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on memorialization may limit creative expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Collected Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collected-poems-3790348/) [Gravestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravestone/) [Gravestone Testimonial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravestone-testimonial-6010725/) [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poems Gravestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems-gravestone-6010724/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Testimonial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testimonial/) ## Related quotes > [“There's something narcissistic in the phrase "collected poems." Who's collecting them? The poem. How hard is that? That's not a real collection. Now if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/there-s-something-narcissistic-in-the-phrase-collected-poems-who-s/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“One thing to which I am most grateful Is that my work slumbers on,sweetly, Not yet discovered, And shall not conjure that most Haunting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wickham/one-thing-to-which-i-am-most-grateful-is-that-my-work-slumbers-on/) [Philip Wickham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wickham/) > [Ginsberg's Collected Poems contains a wonderful poem about making it with Neal Cassady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/ginsberg-s-collected-poems-contains-a-wonderful-poem-about-making-it/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [“It was a page he had Found in the handbook Of heartbreak. Wallace Stevens, “Madame la Fleurie,” Collected Poems I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/it-was-a-page-he-had-found-in-the-handbook-of-heartbreak-wallace/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Herein lies my PRofessional folio wealth, the incalculable testimonial legacy I've secured as an infinitinaire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-bond/herein-lies-my-professional-folio-wealth-the-incalculable-testimonial/) [Tracey Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-bond/) > [From testimonials and personal experience we have enough information to conclude that IT'S POSSIBLE TO DESIGN AND LIVE AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/from-testimonials-and-personal-experience-we-have-enough-information/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [One of the greatest testimonials to God's love is His provision of His Word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/one-of-the-greatest-testimonials-to-god-s-love-is-his-provision-of/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [Those magazine dieting stories always have the testimonial of a woman who wore a dress that could slipcover New Jersey in one photo and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/those-magazine-dieting-stories-always-have-the-testimonial-of-a-woman/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Credit . . . is the only enduring testimonial to man's confidence in man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blish/credit-is-the-only-enduring-testimonial-to-man-s-confidence-in-man/) [James Blish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blish/) > [Use testimonial letters from satisfied customers at every opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/use-testimonial-letters-from-satisfied-customers-at-every-opportunity/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [I couldn't have asked for a better testimonial than Bob Dylan parting with his own cash for a pair of my shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cox/i-couldn-t-have-asked-for-a-better-testimonial-than-bob-dylan-parting/) [Patrick Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cox/) > [It is no slight testimonial, both to the merit and worth of Christianity, that in all ages since its promulgation the great mass of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/it-is-no-slight-testimonial-both-to-the-merit-and-worth-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [Reformers have long observed city people loitering on busy corners, hanging around in candy stores and bars and drinking soda popon stoops, and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/reformers-have-long-observed-city-people-loitering-on-busy-corners/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [The Doxology ... that testimonial to the Platonic Trinity, which divided the Roman Empire into at least eighteen quarreling sects, none of whom knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-hurmence-green/the-doxology-that-testimonial-to-the-platonic-trinity-which-divided/) [Ruth Hurmence Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-hurmence-green/) > [International friendly games are not worth the lives of the silk worms who perish to make the pennants. They do not even have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/international-friendly-games-are-not-worth-the-lives-of-the-silk/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) ## More by Al Purdy > [In my own mind, I was sort of a desperate kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/in-my-own-mind-i-was-sort-of-a-desperate-kid/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) > [At a certain age you're always uncertain how other people will take you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/at-a-certain-age-you-re-always-uncertain-how-other-people-will-take/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) > [Uneasily the leaves fall at this season, forgetting what to do or where to go; the red amnesiacs of autumn drifting thru the graveyard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/uneasily-the-leaves-fall-at-this-season-forgetting-what-to-do-or/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) > [I was desperately unhappy trying to adjust to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/i-was-desperately-unhappy-trying-to-adjust-to-the-world/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) > [And it occurs to me that if I were aboard a rowboat floating in the middle of all the beer I've drunk in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/and-it-occurs-to-me-that-if-i-were-aboard-a-rowboat-floating-in-the/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) > [I'm not religious in any formal sense, not in any God sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/i-m-not-religious-in-any-formal-sense-not-in-any-god-sense/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) > [Things were so bad we ate rabbits that neighbours had run over and gave to us because they knew we were broke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/things-were-so-bad-we-ate-rabbits-that-neighbours-had-run-over-and/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) > [For me, the vast marvel is to be alive. For man, or for flowers or beast or bird, the supreme triumph is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/for-me-the-vast-marvel-is-to-be-alive-for-man-or-for-flowers-or-beast/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) > [I started writing when I was about thirteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/i-started-writing-when-i-was-about-thirteen/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) > [I don't think I do have a soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/i-don-t-think-i-do-have-a-soul/) [Al Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) [Explore all 11 Al Purdy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/) ## More Gravestone quotes > [I don't want to have a gravestone. I want to have all my friends burn me and then snort the ashes. I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-don-t-want-to-have-a-gravestone-i-want-to-have-all-my-friends-burn/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [“I've never written a quote I feel would be suitable for my gravestone. Wouldn't it be ironic if it were this one? Oh, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lilly/i-ve-never-written-a-quote-i-feel-would-be-suitable-for-my-gravestone/) [Ryan Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lilly/) > [Warm summer sun, shine kindly here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/warm-summer-sun-shine-kindly-here/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [ \[On being indecisive and changeable:\] On my gravestone I want inscribed: 'On the other hand, maybe I should have lived. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-walters/on-being-indecisive-and-changeable-on-my-gravestone-i-want-inscribed/) [Barbara Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-walters/) > [Epitaphs for a gravestone: 'Please: no hooliganism'; or 'Es prohibe se hace agua aqui'; or 'No comment'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/epitaphs-for-a-gravestone-please-no-hooliganism-or-es-prohibe-se-hace/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [One of the gravestones in the cemetery near the earliest church has an anchor on it and an hourglass, and the words In Hope.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/one-of-the-gravestones-in-the-cemetery-near-the-earliest-church-has/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Steven Tyler isn't in Aerosmith anymore, but his gravestone will probably say something about Aerosmith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stump/steven-tyler-isn-t-in-aerosmith-anymore-but-his-gravestone-will/) [Patrick Stump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stump/) > [“When a child dies, a parent loses a part of themselves,” he said. “Your whole world ceases to exist and you’re nothing but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/when-a-child-dies-a-parent-loses-a-part-of-themselves-he-said-your/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [An angel visited the green earth, and took a flower away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/an-angel-visited-the-green-earth-and-took-a-flower-away/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [On my gravestone, I want it to say, "I told you I was sick."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/on-my-gravestone-i-want-it-to-say-i-told-you-i-was-sick/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The words It's not my fault! should never again come from your mouth. The words It's not my fault! have been symbolically written on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-andrews/the-words-it-s-not-my-fault-should-never-again-come-from-your-mouth/) [Andy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-andrews/) > [I have been approached now and again about sitcoms, but, with very few exceptions, one simply needs to move to L.A. for at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ives/i-have-been-approached-now-and-again-about-sitcoms-but-with-very-few/) [David Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ives/) > [One puts off the biography like you put off death. To write an autobiography is to etch the words on your own gravestone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/one-puts-off-the-biography-like-you-put-off-death-to-write-an/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [“It is upon such stones that men attempt to permanently etch history so they will not exist in a vacuum; it is the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bignell/it-is-upon-such-stones-that-men-attempt-to-permanently-etch-history/) [Rob Bignell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bignell/) > [“I think they’ll probably put that on my gravestone. ‘He Was Heterosexual and Had Low Expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-think-they-ll-probably-put-that-on-my-gravestone-he-was/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) [Browse all 105 Gravestone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravestone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A collected poems' is either a gravestone or a testimonial to survival.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Al Purdy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone-or-a-testimonial-to-survival/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gravestone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone-or-a-testimonial-to-survival/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/al-purdy-39939_gravestone_a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone_779762.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/al-purdy-39939_gravestone_a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone_779762.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/al-purdy-39939_gravestone_a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone_779762.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A collected poems' is either a gravestone or a testimonial to survival.” — Al Purdy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Al Purdy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-purdy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A collected poems' is either a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone-or-a-testimonial-to-survival/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-purdy/a-collected-poems-is-either-a-gravestone-or-a-testimonial-to-survival/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```