A Poem for a Thursday #195

Jenny Joseph was born in Birmingham, U.K., and studied English Literature at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford. She worked as a journalist, among other roles, and won awards for her poetry. The poem that is most well-known is “Warning.” It was written when she was 28 and did not garner much attention for the next quarter of a century. In 1973 it appeared in the Oxford Book of Twentieth Century Verse and then in the 1980s, it was quoted in an article that appeared in Reader’s Digest. At that point, it took on a life of its own and eventually became the inspiration behind the Red Hat Society. Apparently, Joseph was bemused and a bit frustrated by the attention one poem received especially when some people expected her to personify the poem. The poem continues to have a life of its own and in 1996 a BBC poll declared it the “most popular post-war poem.”

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 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 must 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.

Warning 
Jenny Joseph

If you would like more poetry this week then visit Brona at Brona’s Books.