Question

how does the poet intend to make a living record of his friends memory?

Answer 1

William Shakespeare, in his sonnet 'Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments', has been successful in creating a living and immortal memory of his friend by writing the sonnet in his memory, because of which his friend would be remembered by the many generations to come; hence rendering him immortal.
The sonnet clearly reflects that prose and literature is much stronger than even time and war.