This Be The Verse<br />
by Philip Larkin
They fuck you up, your mum and dad. <br />
They may not mean to, but they do. <br />
They fill you with the faults they had<br />
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn<br />
By fools in old-style hats and coats, <br />
Who half the time were soppy-stern<br />
And half at one another’s throats.
Man hands on misery to man.<br />
It deepens like a coastal shelf.<br />
Get out as early as you can,<br />
And don’t have any kids yourself.
Philip Larkin, "This Be the Verse" from Collected Poems. Copyright © Estate of Philip Larkin. Reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber, Ltd.
Source: Collected Poems (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2001)
Reference:
Larkin, Philip. Collected Poems. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1989.
Compare with The Kids Are Alright.
Recited in Ted Lasso, S3 https://www.looper.com/1294687/ted-lasso-season-3-episode-11-maes-poem-sounds-familiar/#:~:text=To%20jog%20your%20memory%2C%20the,extra%2C%20just%20for%20you.%22
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Be_The_Verse