Born Yesterday | A poem by Philip Larkin, 1954

Louise Blair Daura – Untitled (Louise and baby at Altafulla) – 1930s

Tightly-folded bud,
I have wished you something
None of the others would:
Not the usual stuff
About being beautiful,
Or running off a spring
Of innocence and love —
They will all wish you that,
And should it prove possible,
Well, you’re a lucky girl.

But if it shouldn’t, then
May you be ordinary;
Have, like other women,
An average of talents:
Not ugly, not good-looking,
Nothing uncustomary
To pull you off your balance,
That, unworkable itself,
Stops all the rest from working.
In fact, may you be dull —
If that is what a skilled,
Vigilant, flexible,
Unemphasised, enthralled
Catching of happiness is called.

Philip Larkin, Born Yesterday, 1954
for Sally, Kingsley Amis daughter

Lucky Jim the novel by Kingsley Amis
is dedicated to Philip Larkin