Parent's Manual: Read, Heed, and Follow Through!

I want to take the time to introduce you all to the wonderful vitriol,verse, and wit that is Philip Larkin. This poem should be read and re-read by people who plan on having children. For those who have already crossed that unforgiving threshold, I offer a prayer, holy bread, and gallons and gallons of wine. Now go drink yourselves into oblivion!

Philip Larkin - 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.