When I Am Seventy I Shall Wear A Hat

When I Am Seventy I Shall Wear A Hat

When I am seventy I shall wear a hat

Whether it be cold or not

I’m not sure what you think about the idea

The weather notwithstanding

 

I feel the time has come to adopt a little style

To assume a certain persona

A characteristic feature by which I am known

And seen about the town

 

I haven’t yet made a decision about the gloves and scarf

Although I think both are highly unlikely

For I do not want to be too encumbered

In my daily perambulations

 

But a modest titfer perched aloft

Covering what remains of my thin hair

May be that thing which is missing from my life

And makes a certain statement

 

And although it may slow me down

Owing to wind resistance

Its shape being unlikely to be streamlined

Perhaps I might appear a little taller

 

And people will recognise me from a distance

As I go about my daily business

And say to one another ‘there he goes –

The seventy-year-old that wears a hat.’

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2021