So, so, break off this last lamenting kiss,
Which sucks two souls, and vapors both away.

These lines come from John Donne’s poem “A Valediction: of Weeping,” one of his early love poems (often dated to the 1590s) associated with moments of parting. Donne imagines a farewell between lovers in which tears and kisses become metaphysical instruments: tears are likened to coins stamped with the beloved’s image, and the lovers’ emotional exchange threatens to dissolve the self. The quoted couplet occurs at the poem’s close, where the speaker urges an end to the “lamenting” kiss because it seems to draw out (“suck”) both lovers’ souls and turn them into mere “vapors,” emphasizing the peril of excessive grief at separation.

Donne treats the kiss not as simple affection but as an almost alchemical act that extracts essence. Calling it a “lamenting kiss” fuses love with mourning: the physical gesture becomes a vehicle for sorrow that drains vitality. “Sucks two souls” suggests an intimate mingling so intense it risks annihilating individuality, while “vapors” evokes evaporation—substance turning to insubstantial mist. The speaker’s command to “break off” implies a stoic or pragmatic turn: to preserve their selves (and perhaps their love), the lovers must restrain the theatrical excess of farewell. The couplet crystallizes Donne’s metaphysical style, where bodily acts are made to carry philosophical weight.