The poetry corner

For various reasons including putting off doing the hoovering I've found myself obsessively trying to hunt down a poem about schooldays that I think was written by Phillip Larkin. Haven't found it yet but I did come across another one of his I've not read in years.

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.

It's probably his best known for very good reasons.