Fun_People Archive
2 Mar
This Be the Verse

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Tue,  2 Mar 99 17:37:22 -0800
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Subject: This Be the Verse

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*This Be the Verse*
			by Philip Larkin

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.

© 1999 Peter Langston