Red Hatter Poems

Red Hatter Poems
For feisty fifty plus females
Welcome to Red Hatter poems for women over 50 year old who, having done their duty, now want some me fun time. We cannot comment on the use of the red hat poems by Ms Joseph and Ms Cooper but the red hat poem(s) by Jon Bratton and Marjorie Ramsay are free to use for non-commercial purposes



The Red Hat Society is for 50 year old plus women who want to be silly in their silver years by wearing a purple frock and a red hat, in the style of Jenny Joseph's famous poem




Warning

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

Red Hatter Poems

Jenny Joseph was born in Birmingham on 7 May 1932. An Oxford graduate (1953), she became a journalist in UK and South Africa. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1960. 'Warning', the poem above, is her most popular work, and the inspiration for the Red Hat Society.

The founder of the Red Hat Society wrote the following poem, which, subject to obtaining permission, could be used as a Milestone Birthday Poem

Red Hatter Poems
Red Hat Poem by Sue Ellen Cooper

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 grasp 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.

-written by Sue Ellen Cooper-

Birthday Poems for RHS members (or any woman over 50 who feels that it is time, metaphorically, to learn to spit) are invited from the public

jon@jbratton.com

Red Hatter Poems

Red Hat Poem

Congratulations (Name)
You've reached (passed) the big Five-0
You can now be eccentric
And go against the flow
Wear a purple frock
And red hat that doesn't go
Wear galoshes in the Summer
And slippers in the snow
Hang about (the betting shop) (in beer bars)
Three days in a row
Join a running relay team
And just saunter...very slow

Enjoy your fifty plus years
It can be fun, you know
The dutiful bit is over
You can live just for the mo
Being frivolous and silly
And yes...an awkward so-and-so
Join the Red Hatters
Tell hubby where to go
While you go cruising with your cronies
Round the Gulf of Mexico
Enjoy muchly your Birthday
And the rest of your life...also

Lots of love
etc

Jon Bratton 2008

""""""

Red Hatter Poems

Red Hat poem

My dress is kinda' purple
My hat is 'flamin' red
It covers up the grey hairs
Now sprouting from my head
I know I look distinguished
And my clothes are oh so 'loud'
But I'm a member of the 'Red Hat Brigade'
And of that......I'm very proud!

Marjorie Ramsay 2008

"""""

Red Hat Poem

My hat I wear with great aplomb
It makes me feel so bolder
For though I've passed the '50' mark
I don't feel any older
Than when I was a sweet young thing
Just barely out of my teens
And wearing out my platform shoes
And wide bell bottom jeans
But now I have a purple frock
It really is a shocker
All finished off with 'Big Red Hat'
With ostrich feather topper
I know the colours really clash
To me, it does not matter
I'm proud to say, I'm in the club
I'm a 50 plus 'Red Hatter'

Marjorie Ramsay 2008

Red Hatter Poems

Not Red Hatter Poems but Growing Old Disgracefully

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