Year 7 wrote poems using the first line of Jenny Joseph's poem Warning, When I grow old I shall... Their observations about ageing were amusing, moving and insightful! I have chosen a selection as there were far too many to include.
Ms Essery
Year 7’s poems about growing older!
When I grow old I shall sit for hours on end
Contemplating on all the friends I’d fallen out with
And how I was going for a walk on the heath with the two that remained
When I grow old I shall scold my grandchildren
And say controversial things for attention
And I shall go on cruise ships and gossip about other elderly couples
I shall invite my children over for dinner, and make them chicken soup
When I grow old I shall learn to appreciate everything I have
Things I could not appreciate before
I shall teach my children valuable lessons
And watch them grow old too
And follow in my footsteps and have children of their own.
I shall not live to see them grow old
When I grow old I shall remember the times when I was young,
And could run and leap and sing, and talk about when I would be old.
But when I grow old I shall not regret the past,
I shall sip tea with my husband who never does any work,
When I grow old our love will tire,
But we will force ourselves to be happy for the sake of our children,
And grandchildren
When I grow old I shall be peaceful, and still
And Cry tears of joy over memories and better times
When I grow old I shall breathe steady, until my breathing grows old too
By Hannah
When I am an old woman I shall forget about everything.
That way I don’t have to make an effort;
And I shall stay in bed all day
And only eat porridge and sugar.
I shall Knit and Knit and Knit all day
And say that I am making a scarf for my sister
When really, I don’t have one.
I shall tell my brother that I still hate him,
And that I never did steal his pudding from the fridge.
You can call your granddaughter your spitting image
Of your younger self
When really she looks nothing like you.
And flip all of the paintings on the wall upside down
While laughing hysterically.
But now we must eat our dinner properly
And do our work every day
And remember our last names.
But maybe I should practice a bit now?
So that my family aren’t to surprised
When suddenly I forget them.
By Pauline
When I grow old I shall
Dye my hair back to it’s natural hue
I shall learn a new language
And I shall continue visiting different countries
When I grow old I will babysit my grandchildren
And spoil them with sweets
I will play them lullabies,
with my little xylophone that I carry around with me
I will lay back on the sofa
While my husband would be building a shed
When I grow old I shall,
Plant different types of fruit and veg
When I grow old I will enjoy my life
Since I will not have quit swimming just yet
By Darya
When I grow Older I Shall Be Wild,
And not get hung up on my ‘oldness’.
I will not say ‘Look at those wrinkles’
Or ‘God I look hundreds of years old.'
I will text my granddaughter every day,
And ask how she is.
I will remember every detail of what she had said the day before.
Then I will eat my breakfast,
Which changes everyday, like my mood.
I won't sit around and knit, or sleep, or read the paper.
I'll cycle, or dance, or make fresh pasta.
I'll wear the newest trainers, with silver stripes and lilac laces.
I'll dye my hair green for the morning and blue for the afternoon,
And get home and eat 'whatever's in the cupboard',
Which could go from a can of lemonade to a Sunday Roast,
And it wont even be a Sunday!
I won't be a Lazy Grandma and doddle everywhere,
Or a Posh grandma, and go for 'Tea With The Girls'
I shall be wild.
By Romy
When I am an old woman I shall make people laugh,
I’ll ride my horse backwards and jump over a calf.
I’ll have a tuned wheelchair and race down the roads,
Swim with the tadpoles and jump with the toads.
I’ll open a school with kids going crazy,
Their favourite subject will be being lazy.
But since that gets boring
And when they start snoring,
I’ll teach them about lions roaring
And monkeys exploring.
Then I’ll go home and reach out to friends.
We’ll sing and dance until the day ends.
Once I am tired I’ll go into bed,
I’ll sleep all night
Until it gets bright,
For the next day to be just as funny and light.
By Lili
When I am an older
I hope to be bolder
And I may have a folder
To reflect on my life.
As I think of the memories of where I have time to to reflect
Then I think ‘What the heck’
‘I am really getting on’
Now it is time to have some fun!
My dream would be to retire
And I would like to travel all around the world
And living the best life ever!
By Ciara
When I am an old woman I shall buy a cat
In the colour of autumn leaves
With a name to match her hidden persona
I shall bake cookies and pies
For me myself and I
I might share with my cat
If she promises to behave solemnly
I want my days to pass
With no exotic catastrophes
And end in beautiful harmony.
By Sila
When I am an old woman I shall make friends with the hairdressers
And read magazines as I gossip
To the ladies either side of me with blow dryers at their head.
I won’t have to worry about spilling toothpaste on my sweatshirts
And I shall wear my Pyjamas to the store everyday
Not just some days, like I do now.
I won’t have to exercise
I will sit in and eat chocolate.
I could spend my pension on extravagant clothes
That I would never wear.
I imagine myself with glamorous, silver hair
Painting in my garden.
I could probably do more rebellious things but
I probably won’t.
By Beatrice
When I am an old woman I shall retire
And move out to the countryside
Where I will watch ‘The Chase’ in the evening
With a puzzle on my coffee table.
I shall exercise less
And hobble on my arthritic legs
As I shuffle to the kitchen to feed the cats.
And as I raise my bingo wing to flap
And watch my cheek begin to sag
I shall ponder the modern-day slang
By Marnie
When I am an old woman I shall move back to China
Where I will spend my last days there
I’ll think about the old days where i was free and wild
I shall read endless books in my bedroom
I’ll do new things I’ve never done before
I shall no longer exercise and go to bed at whatever time I want
And I shall spend my last days and my last breath alone
By Duoyuan
When I am older I shall look after my mother
and travel endlessly around the world
Revisiting all of my favorite countries
I shall work hard get a job and have children
And the rest of my life I will spend
Checking on my children and trying to
Keep my brain sharp so that I can
Pretend to be the wisest to my grandchildren
So that they will ask me for advice
And I will spoil them and I will live
The happiest until I die
By Mikayla
When I am an old woman I shall look back on all my past memories
And watch my children grow older
I shall sit in my garden and relax in the sun
Whilst I wait for the sun to set
And look after my grandchildren
When they come to visit with many stories prepared
I shall cherish these special moments with my family
And be with them till my last heartbeat.
By Chloe