To an Athlete Dying Young

i found this poem to be extremely sad. it talks about a young runner who had won a race and told us that he died, i liked the way they compared carrying him on their shoulders cheering after he had won to carrying his casket and said that the silence sounds no worse than the cheers. i also liked how they pointed out that he wont be forgotten, whereas most people who win races are forgotten long before they pass on. this poem made me think of an athlete i was on a team on with in high school who had also passed on soon after graduation, and i know that everybody will remember him for the rest of their lives, or atleast i will.