Jenny Joseph’s “When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple”
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.
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.
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.
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.
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Warning!
Do you recognize this poem? A 1996 survey BBC identified it as the UK’s most popular post-war poem, beating Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night.”
It’s called “Warning” and was written by Jenny Joseph (1932- ) at age 29.
Jenny Joseph pasó a ser muy conocida por su poema "Advertencia" (escrito cuando tenía 29 años) en el que fantaseaba con el tipo de mujer en que se convertiría cuando fuese "una señora mayor". Imaginaba una mujer que vestiría de morado, con un sombrero rojo que no pegaba, que robaría flores en jardines ajenos, aprendería a escupir, se sentaría en el suelo cuando estuviera cansada y se gastaría la pensión en brandy y sandalias de satén ... todo ello para compensar la seriedad de su juventud.
Esta propuesta de futuro ha llamado la atención de miles de mujeres en Estados Unidos donde se creó la sociedad de los sombreros rojos en cuyas reuniones todas las mujeres acuden vestidas de morado y se lee el famoso poema.
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