When I Start Wearing Purple

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 the flowers in other people's gardens
and learn to spit.

I can wear terrible shirts
and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at a go
or only bread and a pickle for a week

I'll be able to hoard pens and pencils
and beer mats and things in boxes.

But now I must have clothes that keep me dry
and pay my rent and not swear in the street
and set a good example for the children.

I will 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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