Ask me no more, for fear I should reply;
    Others have held their tongues, and so can I,
Hundreds have died, and told no tale before:
    Ask me no more, for fear I should reply -- 

How one was true and one was clean of stain
    And one was braver than the heavens are high,
And one was fond of me: and all are slain.
    Ask me no more, for fear I should reply.

About the headline (FAQ)

This and the poem preceding it were joined for a poem in A. E. H.

Text Authorship:

• by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in Additional Poems, no. 6, first published 1939 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "Ask me no more, for fear I should reply" [baritone and piano] [ sung text not verified ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-03-04
Line count: 8
Word count: 73