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ESPANOL AQUI > Cuando sea una mujer mayor, vestiré de morado
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by Jenny Joseph
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 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 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.
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Purple is my favourite…i want to grow old like a kid ..it lovely and exciting…:)
beautyfull,i will do this,when i,m a old man,i done a lot of these things,when i was younger.
its true dat most od da time v live for others…..only few a times we live for our own selves………
Is not it great if we enjoy more what we are doing…i read a book and smile its joy for me…..next i eat fresh food and smile its another joy like this i have many daily enjoyments…if i try to do what cannot be done…then it will not give me smile … i am 32 so what i think its better for me to enjoy everything now which is not hurting anyone else rather doing it in later years which even i dont know i ll be alive or not… but i ll enjoy this time and in after life i hope from my Allah I have more enjoyments to take on………………so cheers and take care that your enjoyments are not a tease for anyone else?
Envejece con dignidad, pero “no dejes para mañana lo que puedes hacer hoy”, es un dicho que escucho desde niña, has lo que tengas que hacer en tu tiempo hábil.
:)))))
i (mostly) always have and now always will ‘Wear Purple’ <3
So true,and applies to me right now,i have kept postponing things that i always wanted to do for a lot of reasons,maybe ill do them when im old;)..
But will i ever do them??there is a poem in hindi which says”what you do tomorrow,do it today,what u will do today,do it now,cos you never know where life will take you,and if it does,when will you do what you were supposed to do tomorrow?”
hi paulo.
really we donot do what we want to do. the way we want to live and spend our time. we get caught in the world web doing what others want. postponing our own desires and thoughts and never taking out time for them.
we become mere puppets on the stage playing our roles and depart when it ends. takind on our thougts and desires for a next time.
lovely one.
as a child I was prohibited to eat dessert first before every meal. It should always be eat your meal first then your dessert. Now that I am a young adult I find joy in eating my desserts first. It makes me remember my cravings during my childhood days. Indeed growing old does not mean growing up. Live life and enjoy it just a like a child. Thanks Paulo =)
- Are you wearing purple?
- Yes
- What does it mean?
- Women who have to put up with the aftermaths of wars. They deserve the Purple Hearts as well.
- Purple Hearts?
- What did you find about that?
- It’s the US Medal for “Military Merit”
- And
- I have noted a few examples when the Purple Heart is refused.
I have checked both Wikipidia’s sites in French and in English
- This is what I found in French
“Developer un handicap lie au service tel que le syndrome post-traumatique, des mois et des annees apres avoir engage l’ennemi au combat.”
“Developing a handicap linked to the service such as the post traumatic syndrom, months and years after having engaged the enemy in combat.”
Ecoute celle la aussi elle est bien bonne.
Listen, that one also is a good one.
“Blessure au combat lorsque la personne s’abrite ou bat en retraite. Par ex un soldat sous le feu de l’ennemi saute dans un trou et se fele l’os.”
Note- Je me demande combien vont rester debout a attendre que le coup de feu arrive dans leur direction. Je les vois meme en train d’agiter le mouchoir blanc. TROP TARD. Dans ce cas, je suggere et c’est seulement ma suggestion, qu’il vaut mieux se feler un os.
“Injury while combating when the person takes cover or retreats. For ex a soldier under the enemy fire jumps in a hole and fractures his/her bone.”
Note- I am wondering how many are going to stand up waiting that the fire arrives in their direction. I imagine them shaking the white handkerchief. TOO LATE. In this case, I suggest and it is only my suggestion, that it is better to fracture a bone.
“Etre blesse par l’ennemi par negligence de son devoir. Par ex: marcher intentionnellement dans un champ marque de mines ou s’exposer au feu dans le desir d’etre blesse ou tue”
Ils se foutent de nous, non?
“Being injured by the enemy through negligence in its duty
for ex walking intentionally in a mine filed or exposing oneself to fire with the intention of being injured or killed.”
I think they are joking, no?
“Ces cas sont difficiles a determiner, la definition de negligence etant ouverte a interpretation.”
Franchement, qu’est ce que vous en pensez?
“These cases are difficult to ascertain, the definition of negligence being open to interpretation.”
Frankly,…what do you think?
“Handicap physique indirectement lie au combat avec l’ennemi. Par ex la perte de l’audition apres avoir ete pillone par de l’artillerie ennemie.”
A bon entendeur, salut!
“A physical handicap indirectly linked to combat with the enemy. For ex the loss of hearing after having been bombarded by enemy artillery.”
“A word to the wise is enough.”
Je voudrais savoir si tous les soldats recoivent ce document pour savoir si ils seront elligibles pour la Medaille Pourpre? C’est peut etre a considerer ..avant de partir.
I would like to know if all the soldiers receive this document to find out if they will be eligible for the Purple Medal? It might be a consideration…before leaving.
There is more
“During World War II (includes the invasion of Japan, Korean and the Vietnam Wars) 500,000 Purple Hearts Medals were manufactured in anticipation of the estimated casualties.In 2003,there were still 120,000 of the Purple
Medals in stocks. There are so many in surplus that combat unit in Irak and Afghanistan are able to keep Purple Hearts on hand for immediate award to wounded soldiers in the field.”
That’s reassuring.
More reassuring would be not to send them at all and no need for manufacturing Purple Medals any longer.
Because I think it is better to see la “Vie en Rose” after all.
Oh,I felt so sad.They do crazy things because nobody cares for them.
Nice. Age is nothing but a number it cant stop an old lady to do what she’s tempted to do.
this reminds me of my grandma who passed away 6 days back… she was over 80yrs but young aat heart.. she would keep everything we needed in a box from needles to carry bags to sweets .. n she would forget where she had kept them.. oo i miss her.
i like this one,very inspiring
Purple is, afterall, the colour of enlightenment!
I have heard this poem many many times,i often wonder who wrote it,when i find out i will let you know.
This poem is great!
Makes me want to throw away all the layers of reserve that I have developed over the years and just be silly and funny and carefree about life. I’m not this type, but I wish to learn to be like this every once in a while. :)
Shared this in my blog, anyway. Hope you don’t mind. Thanks!
This poem makes me smile and we really shouldn’t wait to grow old to go a little bit mad and crazy sometimes; whether to ring that alarm bell ar run that stick upon the railings, live a little today for you may never grow old.
luvd it… seriously amazing! :)
well,,,when we grow old we all like to feel that we are still young, so we start behaving like young people!!!LOL Nice one though,,,
Indeed, when we are able to put ourselves first before society and its constrainning rules, we can be young and beautiful forever… because it s only then that we ll be able to enjoy every second of our lives… Good luck with that, because it requires a strong person to do so.. strenght of mind and will I mean…
It’s what I am doing now))) I am trying to be more childish as I can…cause life running so fast. Why we need to think about such silly things like inconvinience?
Love this words…they make me smile)))
Refreshing and what I intend to do here and now … just be who I am, wearing more and more purple
Love, Jojo
This is a wonderful poem!
It reminds me of this Wednesday when I picked up an old lady at her home. She had already missed one ride as she was a little too slow. I called her up as she was really late as everything was very busy because of the cold weather and snowfall.
Eventually she came down and I swear to God that she had the greatest purple eyeglasses that would make Ozzy jealous. They were huge and so so purple. She was a bit over 80 years old but dressed very nice and different. I drove her to the hospital and she was a little bit sad and she told me she was tired of living. We talked for a while and I dropped her off at the main entrance. Later that day I picked her up by the city center grocery store. She sat with another interesting lady or Punk Grandma if you like waiting for the cabs to arrive. She was so happy to see me and she seemed much more alive now and she talked loudly about how nice I had been to her. I took her home and before I helped her out of the cab she told me that she had found a new friend in me and gave me a package of ecological oat crackers as a tip. She had bought them for herself as she loved them and instead she gave them to me.
That is the nature of a true gift.
Giving something you really want to someone else.
These kind of people inspire me to wear purple both in mind and on body!
Hola mi querido y milenario amigo,ja,ja,!que bueno es reirse de uno mismo!,jamás había pensado en vestirme de un color al tener cierta edad o la edad cierta…a lo mejor es porque me considero una mujer muy jóven todavía…pienso y te digo:son estas pequeñas limitaciones las nos impiden ver el milagro de cada día…
I like this poem, it’s good advice for any age! Let’s enjoy life : )
Nice thought, Ibtisam…”I admire those who never lose their beauty with their age, but they move it from their faces into their their hearts, and this is the most important thing I think…”
I just read “By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness” and it reminded me to live without regrets or past assumptions.
I really like that, Patricia. Move the beauty from face to heart, poignant.
beautiful.amazing and inspiring.wud love to live like them, enjoying every moment.
We were born to live all the phases of life since each age has its own beauty… And, when we realize that life is short and transient we live it as it is……. Purple is beautiful, but I like the black even if they say black is for olds, I think colors are proportional things…….. Anyhow, I admire those who never lose their beauty with their age, but they move it from their faces into their their hearts, and this is the most important thing I think…….
Wish to be like those one day………
Much love
LOL the purple red lady got it right, she understands what the meaning of living means :)
Wish it was that easy all the time though…
I think it is. .
;)
Love this story :-)
HUgs Jessica
have loved the “break of colors” all my life. orange & pink, purple & red. it really depends on the types of red & purple.
maybe I have just started to behave old too early ….
I really do not feel those two ladies looking “strange.”
:o)
but, do you see the FULL glaces of wine? Beaujolais Primeur!
We shouldn’t wait till we are old to do all the things we are tempted to do. My favorite activity as a 54 year old woman is to act silly! To sing in the rain, to make funny noises, to laugh at idiotic situations, to talk to myself in the mirror and many other nonsensical acts that I think are very childish and totally pleasurable. I believe and have always believed that adults are little children in big bodies. My friends…..don’t let the big body fool you. Stick your tongue out at the driver who didn’t let you cross the road on a zebra crossing. Eat chocolate before dinner and remember….you can go to bed whenever you feel like it!
i love the way u think to do it really make me feel happy that a woman of 54 is doing these things.love u
Oh its simply lovely!!…….I feel the same and thats a good idea to start practising now!!…………its never too early!!:)
why to wait………..its better to start now…coz no one knows the future……
Good, now I’m not afraid of ageing! haha…:D
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