[[Shawn Gilmore]] in On the Page: Paul Sheldon's Typewriter in Misery (1987) — The Vault of Culture<br /> on 2022-06-15

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

Kejriwal, M., & Shen, K. (2021, March 9). Affective Correlates of Metropolitan Food Insecurity and Misery during COVID-19. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/6zxfe

What is Knowledge?

Winter is indeed a cruel season, particularly in London. Most do not recognize this, but London is at the same latitude of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Cold, dark, damp, and absolutely miserable. The "brown fog" gives sensory impression of it being sufficiently polluted.to remove any concept of morning purity.

Justice equals happiness