"A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning" by John Donne

John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning" is a poem written about a man who is explaining to his wife the state of their love and how it will be as he is preparing for a journey.
The title illustrates a farewell to the speaker's wife forbidding her to be unhappy and mournful at his depart. Donne compares the leaving to death of a man, but not as unfavorable because his absence is only temporary: "As virtuous men pass mildly away / and whisper to their souls to go... / Twere profanation of our joys / To tell the laity of our love" (1-8). …