26

response to philip larkin

You fuck them up, your mom and dad
You may not mean to, but you do.
You blame them for the faults you have
Between the sheets - your lovers few.

And you fuck them up in every turn
away from them you take,
while you pretend you want to learn
to not be them, make their mistakes.

You hand your misery to them
by blaming genes, not love and hate.
It helps you shield yourself again
when you say you fail because of fate.

Philip Larkin

"They fuck you up, your mom and dad"

They fuck you up, your mom 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-stylen 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.

I like this poem. It's funny, it's serious, it's to the point, and it uses the word "fuck." Helps show kids that poetry isn't all "thee" and "thine" and "love" and "dove." w00t