This Be The Verse



Philip Larkin (1922 - 1985)

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.  
  They may not mean it but they do.
They fill you with faults they had
  And add some extra just for you.

But there were fucked up in their turn
   By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
   And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
   It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as fast as you can,
   And don't have any kids yourself.