32. To An Athlete Dying Young - AE Housman
THE time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come, 5
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay, 10
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers 15
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man. 20
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head 25
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
I followed Ryan's running career since his prep days in Central Lake, then on to Notre Dame. It was so inspiring to hear of his accomplishments and his work ethic. While I never had the pleasure to meet him, those that had met him spoke very highly of him and I felt that I knew him through them. This tragic event proves to us all that you nerver know when your time is up and that the best way to live life is to it's fullest in every thing that you do.You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Deanna from Michigan