• Blog
  • Archive
    • Portfolio
    • China
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Singapore
    • Singapore Literature
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
    • About the Book
    • Q & A
    • Media & Reviews
    • Images
    • Buy it here
    • Writing
    • Short Story Recommendations
    • Writing Resources
    • Tools for Writers
    • Writing Prompts
  • About
  • Contact
Menu

The Sun Shines & The Igloo Melts

Photography & Writing
  • Blog
  • Archive
  • Gallery
    • Portfolio
    • China
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Singapore
    • Singapore Literature
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
  • We Rose Up Slowly
    • About the Book
    • Q & A
    • Media & Reviews
    • Images
    • Buy it here
  • Writing
    • Writing
    • Short Story Recommendations
    • Writing Resources
    • Tools for Writers
    • Writing Prompts
  • About
  • Contact
Kids, Jakarta Selatan, April 2014

Kids, Jakarta Selatan, April 2014

Kids & Philip Larkin

November 29, 2014 in Indonesia

I am procrastinating by watching Philip Larkin on YouTube. Philip Larkin wasn't just dour and miserable, he was very funny, not just sardonic, he also had a little Viz in him: his correspondence with Kingsley Amis was signed off 'Bum'. Here is one of his funniest, truest poems:

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.

Philip Larkin

Tags: Jakarta, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia, kids, Poetry, Philip Larkin
← Clarke Quay & Belly DancingA Luxury We Cannot Afford & SingPoWriMo →
Back to Top

Copyright Jon Gresham 2013 to 2020, All Rights Reserved. 

Nothing on this website may be reproduced, whether in part or as a whole, without explicit, express  permission in writing from the author.   

Sign Up here for more information or leave a comment.