- E. Housman’s “To An Athlete Dying Young” is part of his series of poems collected in his book, A Shropshire Lad. It is set during the funeral march of a young and victorious runner who died at the height of his career. The speaker is one of the pallbearers, who recounts the athlete’s victory and philosophizes on the timeliness of his death. As with the rest of the book, this poem resounds with the melancholic themes of death and dying in youth.