Last night I was introducted to Philip Larkin, and I am grateful for it. Searching for his poems this morning, I stumbled across this one, which makes such perfect sense that I now worship this man:
This Be the Verse
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they 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 early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
Those sufficiently intrigued could temporarily lose their respiratory power by clicking here.
13 comments:
"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."
ZIZAGLY! Larkin is indeed phenomenal. Am gonna take his advice seriously and make sure my kids have a normal set of parents--someone else of course. Siring them and having them are two different things, no? :))
Cheers to the Larkin.
-- Heretic
Lucky you to have just found him. Happy Larkin around!
Anita
Lucky you to have just found him. Happy Larkin around!
Anita
A poem called Aubade; about death!
Thanks!
I used to LOVE that poem in college. at that time I thought it was super cool and rebellious :)
Well said! :))
And what was that about the read meet again? :P You going??
--Apple
inverted triangle, 'hum do, hamare do'.. all gone
That is great; thanks for introducing us to it.
Welcome to the Larkin Club! Grew up on him...
haha...too true!! bips
As much as I love this, I couldn't help ponder... that if Mr. Larkin's parents were blessed with same astute intellect as him, he wouldn't be there :-)
@Deepak: I thought only grandparents made that kind of statements. Alas! hope you're feeling fine!
Inky
I thik I was fine. Wait a minute while I go check myself in the mirror...
Post a Comment