Wednesday 20 June 2012

WARNING - by Jenny Joseph - a Cotswold poet

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin sandles, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am 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 
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at a go
or only bread and pickles for a week
and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts 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.

42 comments:

  1. I have always loved this, and delight in the idea of wearing purple often, when the time comes.J.

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    1. That was quick - the post was hardly dry before your comment came in. Bravo janice!!!

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  2. Hello Rosemary:
    How well we know this poem from our days in the classroom. We have always found it a joy to teach and have quoted from it so often as it meets so many occasions so perfectly.

    And, how well your garden is wearing its purple clothes, a colour we love in the garden as it add gravitas to the plantings and is a wonderful accent to other, more pastel, shades.

    But, dear Rosemary, we, Peter Pan and Wendy, shall never grow old and nor, we suspect, will you!!!

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    1. My dear Jane and Lance - I will very happily join you both in Neverland.
      The joy of getting older is that you do not have to worry about what people think.

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  3. I've found that one of the great rewards of growing older is that it's easier for me to compliment strangers, and also easier to be very frank. Of course that might not be a product of age, but it does come with growing fully into a sense of Self. That's what I like about this poem. And after all, I already have a red hat!

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    1. Dear Mark - Of course, I had forgotten, you do already have the red hat, and very fetching it is too.
      How good it would have been if we had been armed with this sense of self when we were younger.

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  4. I have heard variations of this poem many times but didn't know the author. I think I am nearly at the purple stage - although growing old, definitely not. Only 70 next year - I think old is about ten years ahead of what one is at the present time. It is all in the mind.

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    1. Excellent reasoning Susan - I like it and I happen to like purple too.

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  5. Ha, ha....I like Mark's comment about his red hat! Rosemary, I think you threw that in just for Mark :-)

    Charming! Now, every time I stroll through my purple (and blue) garden, I will think of this poem.

    4-Ever-Young,
    Loi

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    1. I should have remembered Mark's wonderful red hat Loi.
      Remain 4-Ever-Young-4 as long as you possibly can.

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  6. Needless to say my best friend gave me this little poem years ago - she knows me well!
    It may be a little vulgar to mention it, but I find that one of the "joys" of getting older is bending over when gardening (as opposed to crouching gracefully) in the knowledge that no passer-by will be assessing the merits of one's derriere!

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    1. Lovely, lovely Nilly, I know exactly what you mean - it is so much easier on the knees too.
      I had a chuckle at your comment - thanks.

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  7. It's a lovely and somehow sad poem. How sad, one should wait for old age in oreder to behave like a happy, young person. I don't like purple, and I don't want to wear purple, when I'm old, but I remember a time, when I was sixteen, in Italy, when I did wear purple because it was fashionable. I was very happy, then, and beginning to learn about life. I like to associate the colour purple with those years, when I was blossoming like the Morning Glory in your picture.
    I do hope that that young girls in a purple coat is still inside me, and I actually know she is and sometimes she whispers something in my ear and makes me do crazy things. I don't want to wear purple when I'm old... I want to wear purple inside and always be able to be a bit mad and eccentric, and drink brandy, if I want to. And I will never have to worry about not having money for butter... I HAVE NEVER EATEN BUTTER!

    Nice post and "delicious" photos!

    ANNA
    xxx

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    1. Dearest Anna - you have a wonderful unique take on life, and I know that you have that extra sparkle inside of you, be it purple or whatever. You said I should have run away from school when I was young and confused like you did, but I would not have had your courage. I would do it now, but it has taken me a lifetime to get here. You are that rare thing, a free spirit - lucky you.

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  8. Beautiful purples - the sweet peas are my favourite. Interesting poem. Some of the oddities of the elderly make them strangely endearing don't they.

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    1. The sweet peas worked better than I thought they would. I took the photo in the darkening evening and the flash went off, which made for a nice black background - probably could not do it again if I tried.
      The advantages of being older are that you do not worry about what people might think of you.

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  9. Lovely, lovely collection of flowers dressed in purple! The image of purple color is nobleness and maturity. Since it is the mixture of blue and red, purple symbolizes to me a person who has balanced intelligence (blue) and passion (red). Are you reddish purple or bluish purple, rosemary?

    Yoko

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    1. Dear Yoko - you have really caught me on the spot there - I have not considered the question before - let us say a bit of both♥

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  10. I have loved this poem since studying Jenny Joseph at school and am still determined that I shall behave in this way when I am old!

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    1. I wonder if we ever realise that we are old. I find that most of my good friends are actually older than me, and it has the advantage of making me feel younger. A bit of self delusion I think.

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  11. Ah, purple, that colour that changes in the light and you're never quite sure what it wants to be, sometimes loud and vibrant other times dark and mysterious. I'm too busy in the garden to feel old, trying to squeeze as much as I can into our short growing season...isn't that what life's really about?

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    1. Dear Rosemary - I think you are right, as long as we also find some time to have a bit of fun on the journey too.

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  12. Dear Rosemary, My living room is very young but it wears lavender and purple hand blocked fabrics from France. I am a bit older than my living room and I have worn purple for years and I'm guilty; I have picked flowers in other people's gardens. In fact, my beautiful Asters, growing in my garden, are from seeds I picked through a fence by Lake Maggiore more than 30 years ago.
    Thank you for sharing this wonderful poem with us and thank you also for sharing your beautiful flowers. ox, Gina

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    1. Dear Gina - so many things in my garden have made their way to it by surreptitious means, mainly from holidays, but when they flourish they remind me of the time I gathered them and the spot where they were found.
      I too wear purple, but as an accessory. A purple scarf, beads or bangle.
      Lovely to hear from you Gina - hope your garden is now in tiptop order.

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  13. I look forward to your purple phase immensely, Rosemary :-)
    I do love that poem.

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    1. I wonder if I am already in it and do not realise!!!

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  14. Dear Rosemary,
    I'm not sure what happened to my comment, I'll try again.
    Wonderful post.
    Beautiful poem and photos.
    Love your purple flowers.
    Maybe that's what I'm going to do when I'm old(er)?
    Wish you a wonderful weekend.
    Mette

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    1. Dear Mette - The previous comment did not arrive, and this one was sent to Spam for some unknown reason. However, I have managed to retrieve it.
      Glad you enjoyed the post, it is surprising how many purple flowers there are in the garden. Yes, being older gives you a certain amount of freedom.
      I am hoping that we all have a lovely warm sunny weekend.

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  15. Yes, yes, yes! The older I get the more I want to become like this and do as one pleases - not too much but a little. I refer to the blog Advanced style. Wonderful! Christa

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    1. Life can be so much more fun Christa if we just do as we please, but within reason.

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  16. I have this poem framed at our old house somewhere and I have a book on this wonderful theme as well. Love this post dear Rosemary. Do have a delightful weekend. We shall have a house full of relative but it will be fun.

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    1. Dear Olive - the lady who wrote this poem lives very near to me, I think nearly everyone in the world must have read it at some stage, particularly ladies of a certain age.
      Have a great time with your relatives this weekend♥

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  17. Lovely love love this!!! I always hope when I am old I will embrace being an old lady!!! I love moomoos or however you spell such colorful garments… Bast Wishes ~ Marica

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    1. Dear Marica - I had no idea what a moomoo was so had to look it up. That is the advantage of a computer, instantly the answer is to hand - they look a nice easy thing to wear. Glad you enjoyed the post.

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  18. Dear Rosemary
    I think that this poem talks about the love of life and vitality of people in this age . No matter what colour we shall wear but to have inside us the brightness of colors. I would like to have the strength to follow this poem.!
    Olympia

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    1. Dear Olympia - a nice way to sum the poem up. Lets hope that we all have the spirit and strength when the time comes, but do we ever know when it has arrived?

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  19. Hi Rosemary,
    Something to look forward to when I am really,really old!

    Thank you for visiting and identifying my shrub for me.

    Take care,
    Carolyn

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    1. Dear Carolyn - Thank you for your visit, and I was pleased to help with the shrub identification.
      I wonder if we do realise when we are really, really old!!! I suppose we then see others who are even older.

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  20. It's not a joke I love to wear purple, haha. It's a beautiful blog again Rosemary.

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    1. I bet that you look lovely wearing purple, it is a delicious colour. Glad you enjoyed the blog.

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  21. I love that poem Rosemary it immediately made me think of Ari Seth Cohen's wonderful blog and book, 'Advanced Style'.
    He photographs women who are living their life in the full glory of technicolor when only a purple cape and a red hat will do!

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    1. Thanks for the introduction to Ari Seth Cohen's blog.
      There is obviously hope for the future. The ladies look amazing even though they are well in to their 80s, 90s and even centenarians.

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