One of my favourite poems is ‘Warning’ by Jenny Joseph…
Warning
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 beer mats 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.
by Jenny Joseph
What has prompted me to share this piece of information with you? My trip to the Post Office yesterday. It was like taking a trip back in time in terms of service and shop fittings….but aside from that the lady stood in front of me in the queue (and she was a very well dressed lady of about 60yrs) kept farting! The first time I thought it was the floorboards she was stood on, but then when she was at the till being served she let rip a second time. I couldn’t believe it!! But frankly she didn’t seem to care. And why not? Better out than in….
Incidently, one of my other favourite poems is this one by William Henry Davies….
The Poem “Leisure”
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
WH Davies
From Songs Of Joy and Others (1911)
This year marks the centenary of the writing of this poem. By coincidence, the BBC wrote yesterday that efforts are being made to restore Davies’s last home… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-15482428 …..I wonder what he would make of our modern world. The poem is so true of today’s society.
Well …. I do try and vary the content of my blogs 🙂
Have a great evening