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User Rating: |
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8.3
/10
(445
votes)
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When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Jenny Joseph
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Read poems about / on: purple, money, people, warning, woman, summer, children, rain, red, shopping, child, women, running, flower, friend
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Comments about this poem (Warning
by
Jenny Joseph
) |
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comments about this poem (Warning by
Jenny Joseph
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Salu Salu
(9/30/2009 9:06:00 AM) |
greatness is simplicity! ! ! mild flow but heavy prangs... it hits underneath heart..
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Salu Salu
(9/30/2009 9:06:00 AM) |
greatness is simplicity! ! ! mild flow but heavy prangs... it hits underneath heart..
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Will Moore
(7/31/2009 4:15:00 PM) |
Am I the only reader who is just a little bit uncomfortable that this poem was written (in 1961) by a woman of TWENTY-NINE who was already feeling so trapped by convention that she dreamed of a day - worryingly far off, too - when she might break the shackles? What was she waiting for? Why was she contemplating thirty or more wasted years before she could - apparently - 'act naturally'? And after decades of habit and keeping up appearances, might it not be a great deal more difficult to abruptly change one's spots?
It's very entertaining in its way, but as a parent of children of just that age, I feel sorry for them if they are in the same boat as the writer, and cannot see that they should enjoy every sandwich NOW, and not from some far-distant point in their lives when political incorrectness or whimsical behaviour might be acceptable 'just because you're old'.
Betty Collins (11/27/2006) with her riposte (see an earlier post) is much more to my liking. It saddens me that in nearly three years nobody has taken time out to see her point...
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Debby Rodrig
(6/13/2009 12:49:00 AM) |
I first read this poem in Bernie Siegel's book Peace, Love & Healing in 1994 since then it has been a great inspiration to me and I pass it on to friends and family.
It can not be said more beautifuly, thank you
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nothing over
(4/27/2009 11:08:00 PM) |
Great poem, check out my poems too
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Sherrie Tappenden
(4/2/2009 3:55:00 AM) |
This is the poem that has the most impact on my life on a day to day basis and I solemnly swear to buy an unbecoming red hat at the next sales, (I've already got swearing and spitting down to a fine art!)
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R James Sterzinger
(2/11/2009 9:01:00 AM) |
i think this is one heck of a poem. extraordinary. now that is why we write. when i am old, i want to fall in love with a woman who thinks like that. great job!
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Yoonoos Peerbocus
(1/26/2009 4:57:00 AM) |
you have a knack for ideas /words all finely framed ..well done
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Mandy Bullman
(1/21/2009 1:21:00 PM) |
i love it, its funny my friends would love this.it belongs on the wall witha nice frame on it.
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