"Ode to the Red Hat Society"

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 grasped 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 purples 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.

(Borrowed with permission of the Red Hat Society)