Dirge

A dirge is a mournful poem or song written to express grief, often for the dead. It may be spoken at a funeral or written to sound like a funeral lament. Unlike a broader elegy, a dirge usually stays closely focused on sorrow, loss, and mourning.

Example

The winter church bell shook the air
while ash and silence filled the square;
we carried names we could not say,
and laid them softly down that day.

Related Definitions

[n] a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person

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