Friday, February 29, 2008

My favorite color

I was inspired by this post by my friend Anne to write about my favorite color. I never quite thought about why I liked a color, but she inspired me to really think about it and justify my choice.

I am quite partial to the color purple. I think that I have liked it ever since I heard the poem about the old woman in purple (see below). I have always felt old - my childhood shortened by having to grow up and take care of my younger brother and often drunk mother.

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 am 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 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.

Jenny Joseph 1932 -

But it is more than that. It suggests to me a desire to be genuine at all times. I want to be true to myself - to wear purple and red together if I want to. I always wanted to be the age where I could say what was on my mind and not worry about what people thought. Older people are like that. They reach a point in their lives when they share without holding back how they really see the world.

It is refreshing and yet so simple. Jesus never wasted words. He was transparent and always spoke the truth into people's lives. I strive to be more and more like that.

That is why I like the color purple.


Thanks for reading

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