Take One Home For The Kiddies.

'Take one Home for the Kiddies.'

                                        On shallow straw, in shadeless glass,    pet shop, trapped
                                                       Huddled by empty bowls, they sleep:   company and warmth needed
              No dark, no dam, no earth, no grass -

                                           Mam, get us one of them to keep.    - spoilt and demanding
                                          Living toys are something novel,   not animals just toys
                                   But it soon wears off somehow.     loss of devotion
                  Fetch the shoebox, fetch the shovel -

             Mam, we're playing funerals now.

 just a game and no care

 

From the title alone Larkin mocks the parents the term 'kiddies' could imply they are small and harmless which isn't entirely true. Again Larkin is mocking the working class using 'mam' is a northern term. This poem seems to imply that Larkin isn't a fan of pet shops or anything that is cruelty to animals.

Themes:

• cruelty to pets- the animals are kept in small confined spaces.
• cruelty of children- don't treat them right, have no devolution towards them.
• playing vs. living- to the children having a pet is just a game from beginning to end.