I will be an old woman with long gray hair
To the small of my back
That I will let swing free
No blue-rinse perms for me.
Maybe I will streak it with lavender
At night it will flow like a silver river on my pillow.

I will be an old woman with a teddy bear
Or a stuffed armadillo or penguin
That I will hold when I sleep
And for movies that make me weep
Maybe I will name him Macaroni
Just because I like the word.

I will be an old woman who wears roller skates
With purple wheels and a purple toe stop
That I will refuse to take off in the grocery store
I will make a scene before I roll out the door
Maybe I will keep on rolling all the way home
And fall asleep across my bed with my skates still on.

I will be an old woman dressed in silk and velvet
Flowing dresses of bright colors
No polyester will hang off me
Only clothes that  let me move freely
So I can dance in my kitchen or on my front lawn
All the neighbors will call me senile.

I will be an old woman in a rainbow house
With walls of orange and maroon
Or a mural of strange deep sea fish
The other old women will tsk
They’ll probably shake their heads and whisper
That I’ve gone off the deep end.

I will be an old woman who plays the harmonica
And I will play it badly
And totally out of tune
Out on the front lawn under the full moon
I won’t take any lessons
Because I like unexpected sounds and songs.

I will be an old woman with a wild garden
Full of flowers and weeds
Because weeds can be pretty too
And have just as much right to live as me and you
People will offer to clean up my garden
But I will smile and shake my head no.

I will be an old woman who laughs often
And I will have four dogs and a parrot
Who will love me just the way I choose to be
Run around and howl and shriek  in the yard with me
And we will create such a ruckus
The neighbors will complain.


Maybe I will invite them over to join us.