Here dead lie we

by A. E. Housman

Here dead lie we was Housman's reflection after World War I. Published in The Collected Poems of A.E. Housman (1922) p. 197.

An illustration for the story Here dead lie we by the author A. E. Housman — Ypres, Belgium after WWI, destroyed Cloth Hall, built 1200

Here dead lie we because we did not choose 
To live and shame the land from which we sprung. 

Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose, 
But young men think it is, and we were young.

This poem is featured in our collection of World War I Literature. If you like this poem, you may want to read Epitaph on An Army of Mercenaries.

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Return to the A. E. Housman Home Page, or . . . Read the next poem; Her strong enchantments failing