--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poetry holds the knowledge that we are…" description: "\"Poetry holds the knowledge that we are alive and that we know we're going to die,\" — Marie Howe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/marie-howe-27130_alive_poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-a_217945.png" --- # Poetry holds the knowledge that we are alive and that we… ![“Poetry holds the knowledge that we are alive and that we know we're going to die,” quote by Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/marie-howe-27130_alive_poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-a_217945.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/marie-howe-27130_alive_poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-a_217945.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/marie-howe-27130_alive_poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-a_217945.png) > “Poetry holds the knowledge that we are alive and that we know we're going to die,” [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry captures the awareness of life’s vitality and the inevitability of death, urging us to cherish existence. **In simple terms:** Poetry reminds us we live and will die. Key Takeaway Embrace life’s fleeting moments. Themes mortality awareness artistic expression Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal journaling - grief counseling - teaching literature - rituals Key Concepts existential reflection human condition creative insight Questions to Reflect On - In what ways does poetry help confront mortality? - How can artistic awareness translate to daily gratitude? A Different Perspective Poetry may romanticize death, overlooking practical coping strategies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Hope is alive when u know your anchor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ikechukwu-joseph/hope-is-alive-when-u-know-your-anchor/) [Ikechukwu Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ikechukwu-joseph/) > [No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they'd die for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/no-one-really-knows-why-they-are-alive-until-they-know-what-they-d/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [You don't know what you're alive for until you know what you would die for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-know-what-you-re-alive-for-until-you-know-what-you-would/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Why do I read? To know that I am alive. To know that hope and humanity exist in the world. To remember that some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gea-haff/why-do-i-read-to-know-that-i-am-alive-to-know-that-hope-and-humanity/) Gea Haff > [“I'm awake, I'm alive, now I know what I believe inside, now its my time, I'll do what I want, cause this is my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skillet/i-m-awake-i-m-alive-now-i-know-what-i-believe-inside-now-its-my-time/) [skillet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skillet/) > [You don't know what your Alive for until you know what you would die for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tynee-williams/you-don-t-know-what-your-alive-for-until-you-know-what-you-would-die/) [Tynee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tynee-williams/) > [“I am alive because I know how to love love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/i-am-alive-because-i-know-how-to-love-love/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [I am not even alive enough to know how to kill myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/i-am-not-even-alive-enough-to-know-how-to-kill-myself/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [I don't know whether the bird you are holding is dead or alive, but what I do know is that it is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-don-t-know-whether-the-bird-you-are-holding-is-dead-or-alive-but/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [While he is alive, you may know a person; when he is dead, keep yourself quiet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/while-he-is-alive-you-may-know-a-person-when-he-is-dead-keep-yourself/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [To be alive is a fine thing. It is the finest thing in the world, though hazardous. It is a unique thing. It happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/to-be-alive-is-a-fine-thing-it-is-the-finest-thing-in-the-world/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [ If you're curious, if you have a capacity for wonder, if you're alive, you know all that you need to know \[about music\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/if-you-re-curious-if-you-have-a-capacity-for-wonder-if-you-re-alive/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [You dont know what you're alive for until you know what you would die for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie/you-dont-know-what-you-re-alive-for-until-you-know-what-you-would-die/) [Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie/) > [I don't know why I'm alive but I know there's a reason for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-johansen/i-don-t-know-why-i-m-alive-but-i-know-there-s-a-reason-for-it/) [David Johansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-johansen/) ## More by Marie Howe > [“Even If I Don’t See it Again Even if I don’t see it again.–nor ever feel it I know it is–and that if once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/even-if-i-don-t-see-it-again-even-if-i-don-t-see-it-again-nor-ever/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [I am living. I remember you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-am-living-i-remember-you/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [“I remember a man, a very lonely man, coming up to me at the end of a reading and looking into my face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-remember-a-man-a-very-lonely-man-coming-up-to-me-at-the-end-of-a/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Poetry is telling something to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/poetry-is-telling-something-to-someone/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [“I had no idea that the gate I would step through to finally enter this world would be the space my brother’s body made.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-had-no-idea-that-the-gate-i-would-step-through-to-finally-enter/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [“ WHAT THE LIVING DO Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there. And the Drano won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/what-the-living-do-johnny-the-kitchen-sink-has-been-clogged-for-days/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [But there are moments, walking, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass, say, the window of the corner video store,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/but-there-are-moments-walking-when-i-catch-a-glimpse-of-myself-in-the/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Each of us suffers with envy/for the forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/each-of-us-suffers-with-envy-for-the-forgiven/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Without devotion any life becomes a stranger's story...told for the body to forget what it once loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/without-devotion-any-life-becomes-a-stranger-s-story-told-for-the/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [A traitor commits his crime but once. The rest/is retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/a-traitor-commits-his-crime-but-once-the-rest-is-retribution/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Every poem holds the unspeakable inside it. The unsayable... The thing that you can't really say because it's too complicated. It's too complex for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/every-poem-holds-the-unspeakable-inside-it-the-unsayable-the-thing/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [“Anything I’ve ever tried to keep by force I’ve lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/anything-i-ve-ever-tried-to-keep-by-force-i-ve-lost/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [We tell each other stories to help each other live. That’s why I read poetry. I read poetry to stay alive. That’s why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/we-tell-each-other-stories-to-help-each-other-live-that-s-why-i-read/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Memory is a poet, not an historian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/memory-is-a-poet-not-an-historian/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [Bedeviled, / human, your plight, in waking, is to choose from the words / that even now sleep on your tongue, and to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/bedeviled-human-your-plight-in-waking-is-to-choose-from-the-words/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) [Explore all 21 Marie Howe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poetry holds the knowledge that we are alive and that we know we're going to die,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marie Howe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-alive-and-that-we-know-we-re/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-alive-and-that-we-know-we-re/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/marie-howe-27130_alive_poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-a_217945.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/marie-howe-27130_alive_poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-a_217945.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/marie-howe-27130_alive_poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-a_217945.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poetry holds the knowledge that we are alive and that we know we're going to die,” — Marie Howe", "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": "Marie Howe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Poetry holds the knowledge that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-alive-and-that-we-know-we-re/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/poetry-holds-the-knowledge-that-we-are-alive-and-that-we-know-we-re/#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 } } ] } ```