When I am an old woman

So for my centenary I thought I would make a cake, but don't do very well making cakes. Then I thought I would do something amazing with various props...but then got no ideas. Then I thought I would do a macro, but, although I like doing those, they are nothing special.

So I thought I would share one of my favourite poems. I love this poem so much I stitched this and it hangs in my living room. It is about 2ft by 1.5 ft in its frame and took me approximately 8 months to stitch.

The text reads:

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 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.

Jenny Joseph