“The mind blanks at the glare. Not in remorse
—The good not done, the love not given, time
Torn off unused—nor wretchedly because
An only life can take so long to climb
Clear of its wrong beginnings, and may never;
But at the total emptiness for ever,
The sure extinction that we travel to
And shall be lost in always. Not to be here,
Not to be anywhere,
And soon; nothing more terrible, nothing more true.”

— Philip Larkin

Source: "Aubade", Times Literary Supplement, 23 December 1977

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Philip Larkin 42

English poet, novelist, jazz critic and librarian 1922–1985

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