This be the Verse 2

Philip Larkins (in)famous “This be the verse” (They f*ck you up, your mum and dad...) has long been highly regarded in counselling circles. It’s a lot of fun, and every time I've heard it quoted, it’s met by by knowing looks of recognition, wherever folks gather for encounters like Dr Evil’s legendary Father/Son family therapy session with Carrie Fisher:

Now, in the week of the poet’s death, John Halton has posted a response from a newspaper cutting by Adrian Mitchell:

They tuck you up, your mum and dad
They read you Peter Rabbit, too.
They give you all the treats they had
And add some extra, just for you.

They were tucked up when they were small,
(Pink perfume, blue tobacco-smoke),
By those whose kiss healed any fall,
Whose laughter doubled any joke.

Man hands on happiness to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
So love your parents all you can
And have some cheerful kids yourself.

Kudos to John for the poem. Two impressions from yesterday — Anna waving goodbye before my annual Xmas trek, & one of the sights of Newport Pagnell, more Philip Larkin than Adrian Mitchell...