A poet
put it very well. She said when she was older;
She wouldn’t be so meek
and mild. She threatened to get bolder:
She’d put a
red hat on her head, and
purple on her shoulder.
She’d make her life a
warmer place, her golden years much golder.
We read that poem, all
of us, and grasped what she is saying
We do not need to sit
and knit, although we all are graying.
We think about what we
can do. Our plans we have been laying.
Instead of working all
the time, we’ll be out somewhere playing.
We take her colors to
our hearts, and then we all go shopping,
for
purple clothes and hats of
red, with giant brims a-flopping.
We’re tired of working
all the time, and staying home and mopping,
We order pies and
chocolate fudge, and rich desserts with topping.
We crown ourselves as
duchesses and countesses and queens,
We prove that playing
dress up isn’t just for Halloween.
We drape ourselves in
jewels, feathers, boas and sateen.
We see ourselves on
television and in magazines.
We laugh, we cry, we
hug a lot. We keep each other strong.
When one of us goes out
for fun, the rest all go along.
We gad about, we lunch
and munch, in one big happy throng.
We’ve found the place
where we fit in, the place we all belong.
Sue Ellen Cooper
Exalted Queen Mother of
Red Hat Society