They fill you with the faults they had, And add some extra just for you.
But they were f'd 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 early as you can, And don’t have any kids yourself.
- Philip Larkin, This Be The Verse
They fill you with the faults they had, And add some extra just for you.
But they were f'd 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 early as you can, And don’t have any kids yourself.
- Philip Larkin, This Be The Verse