TOP
Header PostFeaturedImage 07

Home is So Sad by Philip Larkin

Home is So Sad
Philip Larkin

Home is so sad. It stays as it was left,
Shaped in the comfort of the last to go
As if to win them back. Instead, bereft
Of anyone to please, it withers so,
Having no heart to put aside the theft

And turn again to what it started as,
A joyous shot at how things ought to be,
Long fallen wide. You can see how it was:
Look at the pictures and the cutlery.
The music in the piano stool. That vase.

MARGINALIA

I was thinking of leaving. But I know it’s not going to be the answer.

ABOUT PHILIP LARKIN

Philip Larkin was born in Coventry, England in 1922. He earned his BA from St. John’s College, Oxford. He worked in libraries his entire life, first in Shropshire and Leicester, and then at Queen’s College in Belfast, and finally as librarian at the University of Hull. In addition to collections of poetry, Larkin published two novels—Jill (1946) and A Girl in Winter (1947)—as well as criticism, essays, and reviews of jazz music. The latter were collected in two volumes: All… (more)

Read more poems by Philip Larkin • Find books by this poet on Amazon • Bookshop • Or view my library

ENDNOTES

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from Read A Little Poetry

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading