--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed…" description: "\"“I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.”\" — Sharon Olds" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/sharon-olds-8682_grave_i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeeze_354044.jpg" --- # I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay… ![“I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.” quote by Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/sharon-olds-8682_grave_i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeeze_354044.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/sharon-olds-8682_grave_i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeeze_354044.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/sharon-olds-8682_grave_i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeeze_354044.jpg) > ““I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.”” [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. The speaker physically embraces a tree, then lies on his father's grave, symbolizing grief, memory, and a yearning for connection with the deceased. **In simple terms:** A physical act of grief and longing for the father. Key Takeaway Express grief through symbolic actions. Themes grief memory family Mood somber reflective Type poetic emotional When to use this quote - funeral rituals - personal reflection - creative writing - healing processes Key Concepts symbolic gesture mourning Questions to Reflect On - What physical act could you use to honor a loved one? - How does nature help you process loss? A Different Perspective May be too abstract for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arms Trunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms-trunk-3265002/) [Father Grave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-grave-3265001/) [Grave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grave/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Trunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trunk/) [Trunk Squeezed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trunk-squeezed-3265000/) ## Related quotes > [“The marker slants, flowerless, day’s almost done, I stand above my father’s grave with rage, often, often before I’ve made this awful pilgrimage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berryman/the-marker-slants-flowerless-day-s-almost-done-i-stand-above-my/) [john berryman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berryman/) > [A man who would not love his father's grave is worse than a wild animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/a-man-who-would-not-love-his-father-s-grave-is-worse-than-a-wild/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [“We sealed my father's grave on a day of stark contrasts, of black against white, and it was the last time I'd ever find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-fantaskey/we-sealed-my-father-s-grave-on-a-day-of-stark-contrasts-of-black/) [Beth Fantaskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-fantaskey/) > [That's a pretty big trunk on my Lincoln town car, ain't it? Big enough to take these broken hearts and put 'em in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/that-s-a-pretty-big-trunk-on-my-lincoln-town-car-ain-t-it-big-enough/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [When people call this beast to mind, They marvel more and more At such a little tail behind, So large a trunk before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/when-people-call-this-beast-to-mind-they-marvel-more-and-more-at-such/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [“We made love like two people trying to make love like three people in the trunk of a car. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dark-jar-tin-zoo/we-made-love-like-two-people-trying-to-make-love-like-three-people-in/) [Dark Jar Tin Zoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dark-jar-tin-zoo/) > [“Forget the trunk. You can have the back seat ... but you have to duck.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-paull/forget-the-trunk-you-can-have-the-back-seat-but-you-have-to-duck/) [Anthony Paull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-paull/) > [The mind is like a trunk: if well-packed, it holds almost every thing; if ill-packed, next to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/the-mind-is-like-a-trunk-if-well-packed-it-holds-almost-every-thing/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [It's all about attitude and feeling good about yourself and not looking like everybody on TV. You do not have to be small; you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/it-s-all-about-attitude-and-feeling-good-about-yourself-and-not/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [Hand on my wood, same thang on my dash. Got the pop trunk glowing, lights say I'm having cash. I'm rolling on glass, paint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killa-kyleon/hand-on-my-wood-same-thang-on-my-dash-got-the-pop-trunk-glowing/) [Killa Kyleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killa-kyleon/) > [I live like in the days of Daniel Boone, hauling water by hand. I used to have two Rolls-Royces. Now I got one. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-dale/i-live-like-in-the-days-of-daniel-boone-hauling-water-by-hand-i-used/) [Dick Dale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-dale/) > [“his brain splattered all over the trunk of a car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/his-brain-splattered-all-over-the-trunk-of-a-car/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [“He was still as an oak trunk, silent as a candle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-n-holmberg/he-was-still-as-an-oak-trunk-silent-as-a-candle/) [Charlie N. Holmberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-n-holmberg/) > [I've always wanted to do a segment on a talk show. Jay Leno has been such a good friend, and if he would allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrot-top/i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-a-segment-on-a-talk-show-jay-leno-has-been/) [Carrot Top](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrot-top/) > [Senator Douglas was very small, not over four and a half feet height, and there was a noticeable disproportion between the long trunk of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-villard/senator-douglas-was-very-small-not-over-four-and-a-half-feet-height/) [Henry Villard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-villard/) ## More by Sharon Olds > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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/) > [“...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 Grave quotes > [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [“If Abraham Lincoln were alive now, he'd roll over in his grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-ford/if-abraham-lincoln-were-alive-now-he-d-roll-over-in-his-grave/) [Gerald Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-ford/) > [Leisure without study is death, and the grave of a living man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/leisure-without-study-is-death-and-the-grave-of-a-living-man/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“within yourself, you became a grave for her as you were a grave for Chet, and you carried your dead unquietly within you. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/within-yourself-you-became-a-grave-for-her-as-you-were-a-grave-for/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“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/) > [Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [That's wisdom you can take to the grave, and dig up when you need it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/that-s-wisdom-you-can-take-to-the-grave-and-dig-up-when-you-need-it/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [You can run from the grave, but you can't hide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/you-can-run-from-the-grave-but-you-can-t-hide/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-always-thought-i-d-like-my-own-tombstone-to-be-blank-no-epitaph-and/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [If you get yourself killed, I'll find your grave and spit on it," she threatened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-garwood/if-you-get-yourself-killed-i-ll-find-your-grave-and-spit-on-it-she/) [Julie Garwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-garwood/) > [“Some people die and you realize that the only mark they left on earth are the tomb stones under which they lie. The impacts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/some-people-die-and-you-realize-that-the-only-mark-they-left-on-earth/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The job of the government - and my responsibility - is to help people live healthier lives. The framework is about giving local authorities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lansley/the-job-of-the-government-and-my-responsibility-is-to-help-people/) [Andrew Lansley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lansley/) > [“Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus; and we petty men Walk under his huge legs, and peep about To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/why-man-he-doth-bestride-the-narrow-world-like-a-colossus-and-we/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If I'm taking a picture of Brancusi's grave, I know that there's something of him, of his mortal remains, beneath my feet, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/if-i-m-taking-a-picture-of-brancusi-s-grave-i-know-that-there-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Keep digging, Flynn. Six feet makes a grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-monk/keep-digging-flynn-six-feet-makes-a-grave/) [Devon Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-monk/) [Browse all 723 Grave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sharon Olds" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeezed-it-then-i-lay-down-on-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeezed-it-then-i-lay-down-on-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/sharon-olds-8682_grave_i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeeze_354044.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/sharon-olds-8682_grave_i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeeze_354044.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/sharon-olds-8682_grave_i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeeze_354044.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.” — Sharon Olds", "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": "Sharon Olds", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I put my arms around a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeezed-it-then-i-lay-down-on-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeezed-it-then-i-lay-down-on-my/#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 } } ] } ```