Take One Home For The Kiddies

 This is a morbid poem demonstrating Larkin's negative views of children as he talks about the way they treat animals which are playthings to them, and are not treated right so they quickly die but it is just a game for the children, 'kiddies' introduces this immaturity.  The poem shows how fickle life is and the ABAB rhyme scheme reiterates the simplistic view of life presented by it, as children have. 

 Stanza 1:

• 'shallow straw' not only reflects how these animals are neglected but reflects childrens 'shallow' view of life and their pets.
• 'shadeless glass' demonstrates that these animals cannot escape. 
• The repetition of 'no', 'no dark, no dam...' reinforces the poor quality of their lives, as well as reflecting that people should say 'no' to children. 
• 'get us one of them' shows how Larkin see's children as rude, demanding and greedy and have no care, calling a creature 'them' as if it were an object. 

Stanza 2:

• 'Living toys' shows how children see animals merely as playthings and 'novel' and have no deeper care for them, showing how these animals are neglected. 
• 'wears off' shows how their love is fickle and they will move on easily.
• 'we're playing funerals now' shows how even the death is a game, reinforcing children being heartless.