The poem lacks a specific setting, though its language and snippets of British dialect, like “mum” (1) and “soppy” (7), suggest twentieth century England as the general setting. The setting might more accurately be described as the memories of someone who spent their childhood in England and believes their experiences with their parents to have a universal resonance, such that the setting of their poem is life itself. This speaker believes childhood to be a space for parents to “fill you with the faults they had / And add some extra, just for you” (3-4). The speaker also recognizes that one’s childhood is part of a cycle of misery-inducing childhoods that to some extent sum up the essence of human life. When the speaker advocates to “Get out as early as you can” (11), he seemingly refers to life itself. Reducing human existence to the proposition “Man hands on...