They don’t fuck you up, your mum and dad
(Despite what Larkin says)
It’s other grown-ups, other kids
Who, in their various ways
Die. And their dying casts a shadow
Numbering all our days
And we try to keep from going mad
In multifarious ways.
And most of us succeed, thank God,
So if, to coin a phrase
You’re fucked up, don’t blame your mum and dad
(Despite what Larkin says).