Naturally the Foundation wll bear your Expenses

Theme:

This poem includes the idea of war, and remembrance day which includes the reflection of those who fought in the past. There is an element of travelling and education throughout the poem.

Content:

The persona is dislikable, and rude towards a historical event as he sits in a taxi and the events of remembrance day are making him late for his plane. His views are controversial, with no sentiment, pity or feeling for humanity towards the past.

Analysis:

Bearing 'your expenses' is taking away the difficulties, and people take advantage to this because expenses make us view life cynically. Expenses could include transport and accommodation.
'Catch my comet' describes the persona travelling, by plane, to somewhere far away from where he is. The 'my' makes the persona sound possessive and dislikable.
'One dark November day' shows that the poem is about remembrance day, the 11th November, the day WW1 soldiers are respected and remembered. The 'dark' suggests that the persona sees this with a miserable, pessimistic, dull view, like it's just another day. In the first stanza Abse compares this day to all the places he has been, a different world to what he sees. The persona brags about these places and people, 'the sunshine of Bombay', reading 'pages Berkeley' which implies that the persona is academic, and the 'Third' is the most intellect BBC radio program of the time, showing that the persona is showing off.
'Crowds, colourless and careworn' an alliteration that becomes scathing, snobbish and makes the persona's surrounding seem bland and uninteresting. The person doesn't understand why this is making his taxi late until he is 'airborne'. 'The day when Queen and Minister and Band of Guards and all still act their solemn-sinister wreath-rubbish in Whitehall', suggests the authority, and higher status people pay their respects as a fake performance, just to follow their duties by 'acting'. There is some irony that the Queen sympathises with these soldiers but she was the one that sent the men to their death, a kind of hypocrisy. 'Solemn' implies that Larkin is expected to be respectful but instead he is shocking and against it. 'Wreath-rubbish' is rude and critical of remembrance day, aimed at the upper class.
'It used to make me throw up' is an exaggeration on how Larkin thinks the event is sickening, 'these mawkish, nursery games' are just done because of tradition, done thoughtlessly. The persona is rude to the day, a pointless symbol, devoid of its true meaning. 'O When will England grow up?' is rude to the monarchy, a parade of grief and how it's acted out, England wasting their time on something they need to forget.
The persona name drops in the last stanza also, a rude, critising character.