The Apocalypse
Suicide Page

Site Map

Home
About Me
Crisis Centers
Depressed and Suicidal?
About Major Depression
About Antidepressants
Depression Recovery
Destructive Lifestyles
Letter About Change
Asserting Ourselves
Listening Skills
Conversation Techniques
A Poem
Join Mail List
Email Me

back to
depression community

send this page to a friend

Warning
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 peoples' 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 beer mats 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.

Isn't this a wonderful poem? We all are too inclined to act as society dictates (or as we think it does). Start now to wear a little purple, but not a lot for now. Make smaller decisions and let the more complicated ones wait for awhile; "so people who know you won't be too shocked or surprised."

top | site map
home | email me | send page to a friend

HealthyPlace.com Homepage
Chat ~ Forums ~ Communities
HealthyPlace.com Films ~ HealthyPlace.com Radio ~ News
Site Map ~ Web Tour ~ Advertise ~ Email Us
send this page to a friend

We subscribe to the HONcode principles of the Health On the Net Foundation.

© 2000-2006 HealthyPlace.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use Privacy Policy Disclaimer Advertising Policy