Eulogypoems - Blog Posts
Warning: When I Am an Old Women I Shall Wear Purple - Jenny Johnson
Life is busy, and I haven't posted in a few days, so indulge me a moment for thoughts on a poem. Below is a link to a reading of "Warning: When I Am an Old Women I Shall Wear Purple." The 'meaning' behind this work is a rather simple one: do not wait to do the things that bring you joy until you are old because you are afraid of how people will perceive them. The amount of time we are granted on this earth is not guaranteed and will never be long enough. Live while you can. Love while you can. And do not be afraid to wear purple.
A large portion of my readers are Lovejoy and Wilbur Soot fans, and I adore them. I adore all of my readers, of course, but this is a message solely for them. Punk Rock, Counter Culture, Goth, Emo, you name it - they were all popularized by people smart enough to think deeply and critically about our place in the universe and who were brave enough to own it. The only crime a majority of you have committed is asking difficult questions, standing firmly by your beliefs, and feeling empathy in a situation where it is difficult to do so.
No one can tell you which art to like or music to listen to. People have been doing morally reprehensible things since time began, and quality is in no way based on the integrity of their morals. The idea that it's only ok to like a 'bad persons' work if their dead is so ludicrous that I will not dignity that sentiment here.
Do what makes you happy and gives you the strength to live and move forward. This life is hard, but it is worth it. An please, consider wearing purple more often. You might find that it suits you.
In Rapid Eye Moves, I Fall Right Back to You
Do you remember cycling
across the channel in September? Check
your front coat pocket. Tucked away,
a polaroid projected point
in time filled with love and joy and bright endless
afternoons. See those ruby seeds drip.
drip. dripping... from the corners
of chapped lips? It's strange, the way
they contrast your pale blue. We went to
find marigolds. Except,
I left with Asphodels -