" Dull sublunary lovers love, - whose soul is sense - cannot admit of absence, cause it doth remove the thing which elemented it."" This poem is about quietly and peacefully saying goodbye to a lover, and what Donne is saying in these lines, is that lesser people who love, only love with the physical senses. This means that when one of the lovers is absent, there is no longer any love between them, because the only thing keeping them in love was the physical presence. Once the physical presence is gone, so too is the love. .
Donne is also saying that in comparison his love for the recipient of the poem is much stronger, " But we by a love so much refined, That ourselves know not what it is, Inter-assured of the mind, Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss. Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to ayery thinness beat."" Since the love Donne shares with the recipient is more "refined- or a higher form of love he is telling her that they do not need to become upset because of separation. There is more to their love than simply the physical aspect; therefore when there is a physical separation it does not mean there is a separation of their love. The couple's souls are still united, no matter how far apart their bodies might be. This is why Donne sees no need for an emotional goodbye.
Donne also expresses the strength of spiritual love by comparing it to a compass: .
" If they be two, they are two so As stiffe twin compasses are two, Thy soule the fixt foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if the'other doe."" He is saying here that with the spiritual love between the couple, no amount of distance can separate their love for each other. A couple who has this degree of spiritual love can be separated physically but it would never affect the stability of their relationship. One person might have to leave for a period of time, but because of the strength of the love, the other person would remain faithfully behind as long as necessary.
