Dirge by William Shakespeare

COME away, come away, death, 

   And in sad cypres let me be laid; 

Fly away, fly away, breath; 

   I am slain by a fair cruel maid. 

My shroud of white, stuck all with yew, 

   O prepare it! 

My part of death, no one so true 

   Did share it. 

Not a flower, not a flower sweet, 

   On my black coffin let there be strown; 

Not a friend, not a friend greet 

   My poor corse, where my bones shall be thrown: 

A thousand thousand sighs to save, 

   Lay me, O, where 

Sad true lover never find my grave 

   To weep there! 

Some poems are happy and bright. Others are dark and dreary. Some poems celebrate life and romance. Others focus on death. Dirges are dark poems that are focused on death. They're somber songs used to lament the dead.

Watch the video below to learn more about dirges.