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.
And I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm not 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 in 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 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 our 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....
From "Warning", by Jenny Joseph
(I found this in a thrift store and bought it to hang on my wall...thought you guys might like it.)