When I Am An Old Woman

Not only is April National Humor month it is also National Poetry month. I thought it fitting to post one of my favorite poems in honor of National Poetry month. I have loved this poem since I was in my early 20s and now I'm getting close to being the old woman in the poem. :)

When I Am An Old Woman

I shall wear purple

With a red hat which 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.

You 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,

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 will have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old and start to wear purple.

My great grandmother Annie Pease is pictured on the right. She has been gone many years but I remember her well and loved her much.