For They Shall Inherit

kottke.org May 23, 2025 By Jason Kottke

It’s Friday and so we’ll end the week with a pair of poems. Good Bones by Maggie Smith:

Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.

This Be The Verse by Philip Larkin:

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.

Those are just excerpts…click through to read the whole poems. I’ll see you next week.

Tags: Maggie Smith · parenting · Philip Larkin · poetry

💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org

It’s Friday and so we’ll end the week with a pair of poems. Good Bones by Maggie Smith:

Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.

This Be The Verse by Philip Larkin:

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.

Those are just excerpts…click through to read the whole poems. I’ll see you next week.

Tags: Maggie Smith · parenting · Philip Larkin · poetry

💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org

Comments 0

Log in to post a comment.

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

Source Information
kottke.org
Web Publication

Published on May 23, 2025 by Jason Kottke

Visit Original Article
Advertise with Us

Reach our audience with your ads