"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 baked goods  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 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 cookies  at a go
Or only bread  and carrots  for a week
And hoard pens and  pencils and placemats 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 our 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 suprised
When suddenly I am old , and start to wear purple . :)