We see them –
slim, clear-skinned, hair flying,
spewing vitality as they steal the streets,
gracing us with with the everyday beauty of youth –
a fleeting gift to each generation
As you take them in,
memory stirs a longing
and envy translates to anger.
Bitter words trickle from your folded lips:
Young idiots. look at them, running around like the world owes them a living. No respect. We would never have got away with it when we were young.
Which strikes me as funny,
because we did –
we got away with laughing and feeling free.
You spit,
your slimy filth spattering on the pavement to fester
until the rain washes it away.
Age gives me the grace to behave disgracefully,
you say.
©Jane Paterson Basil
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Making it write 
I’m kind of looking forward to behaving disgracefully, though my son would claim I already do as I use his old pushchair to bring shopping back from the supermarket and complain about bad service or dirty tables in cafes. Maybe I should dye my hair purple and get a nose ring – that would really upset him.
And if young people don’t want to be resented they shouldn’t be so young, energetic, attractive and have their whole damn lives infront of them! 🙂
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You use his old pushchair as a shopping wheelie – I’m impressed! But then, you live in Bristol – it’s probably easier to be real when you’re surrounded by real people 🙂
As for a nose ring – I think a 40mm ear stretcher with a heavy BCR hanging from it would have more effect. You could get a skull pendant to hang from the BCR’. Or maybe you could do something like this: http://www.healthhype.com/wp-content/plugins/body-piercing.jpg and where a bikini to parents’ evening… 🙂
To my shame, I used to sell body jewellery – and yet I haven’t even got pierced ears.
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I do tend to look like a mad bag lady when I go shopping (though part of me quite enjoys that). Either that or I’m a very forgetful older mum who’s put her toddler down somewhere, if she could just work out where …
I used to have lots of ear piercings (even though Mother told me I’d get cauliflower ears if I kept getting more done) but just got lazy. With the amount of earrings and necklaces, Indian silver belts and anklets and beads and wire in my hair, it used to take an hour and a half to het out the door in the morning!
Maybe I’ll pass on the side piercings – they’ll get caught in my anorak 🙂
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WBM! (I’m experimenting with making up abbreviations – you’re meant to try and guess what they mean) You were a hippy chick! Why didn’t I guess that? Did your mother warn you it that it may all seem like fun and games, but it would end in anoraks?
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Was trying not to show my ignorance! What is a WBM? I was kind of hippy – black velvet and Doc Martens were my wedding clothes. You wouldn’t know it now to look at me. And everyone should be warned against anoraks 🙂
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WBM – You couldn’t have known what it meant 🙂 and I’d forgotten, but I remember now – Well, Bugger Me. 🙂
Most of us grow out of the need to define ourselves with showy clothing – but I like the sound of your weddingoutfit. What did the proud groom wear?
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Haha! Like it.
The groom wore black jeans, a black jacket, DMs, and a brooch in the shape of a sword on his lapel. He had very long hair at the time which he tied back in a neat pony tail. He was very handsome, though I think some of the older family members wondered what the hell was going on! 🙂
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Very Gothic. You don’t mention black roses…
I love to see weddings like that. It’s less silly than sticking a woman inside a giant meringue 🙂
When my aunt got married in the 40’s she wore a beautiful slinky dress of cream silk, with a long train, her hot-house flower bouquet was also cream. The effect was ruined somewhat by a slice of burnt toast that had somehow attached itself to the hem of the train, and was loudly scratching down the aisle. 😀
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Yes, we were very Gothic! No black roses – freesias and anemones with big ivy leaves round the outside.
Love the story of your aunt’s toast laden dress – brilliant 🙂
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Anenomes and ivy – perfect, but weren’t the freesias a little too… cheerful? 🙂
Seriously though, it all sounds lovely. I mean that.
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Ah, thanks Jane. It was lovely. The registrar told us we were the happiest looking couple she’d ever married – though what people are doing getting married if they’re not happy about the prospect …
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You were probably happy because you went into it with more certainty that a life together was what you wanted, not all the frippery of anexpensive and attention-grabbing day.
I know someone who’s getting married in September 2017, and the preparations are well advanced. She keeps showing me pictures of the flowers she’s having and giving me details of the wedding favours (whatever they are), the invitations, even the name cards on the tables. Though let’s face it, if your name cards don’t co-ordinate with your invitations, people may talk. They may say that you didn’t really care about each other. It would get back to you. Blame would be apportioned, there would be quarrels – perhaps violence – and who could blame a man for stabbing a woman who COULDN’T EVEN BE BOTHERED TO MAKE SURE THE NAME CARDS MATCHED THE INVITATIONS. Even if the murder trial went ahead – (which it wouldn’t in a sensible country like this where we don’t waste money on pointless things like law and order), the judge would throw the case out of court 🙂
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Haha! Never saw the point of all that. My sister in law kindly made our cake – she’s a good cook but no baker. Our reception was at my parents in laws house and everyone had to stand or sit where they could as there was no table to put name cards on! All the nanas pushed everyone out of the kitchen and gossiped about young people as they did the washing up. That was our kind of wedding – no photographer, no wedding favours, no disco. Guilty as charged 🙂
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No name cards! how did people know who they were? And no disco? Surely it’s a legal requirement! You poor thing – you’re not really married. It’s ok, I can fix this. I’ll arrange the whole thing for you – you don’t have to do a thing. I still have a lot of my wholesale contacts and I can get a bolt of white nylon and run up a proper dresswith all the frills. Dizzy Dave will do the Disco, and since he came out of prison – after that unfortunate business with the orphans and the flamethrower (how was he to know they were inflammable) he’s surprisingly cheap. We could go for a psychodelic 60’s theme – red, pink, lime green, purple, orange, turquoise – you know the sort of thing. I’m thinking pom-pom dahlias – they come in bright colours. ots of ribbons with big glittery hearts attached to them – I’ll make them out of cornflakes boxes, nobody will know. You’ll love this – I’ll get a farm trailer and deck it out like a four-poster bed with swirly fabric (again, I can get the nylon wholesale). It’ll have to be horsedrawn, although cows look a bit like horses don’t they? With the right livery or whatever it’s called (sticking with the colour theme, obviously.
Ooh – I’m getting really excited, and I know you will be too. I can read you like a book. Can we skip the formalities, where you act like you don’t want to put me to any bother, and I insist, and you say welll, if your sure it’s not too much trouble. Don’t say another word. I’m on it. We’re gonna do this thing together – well not together, obviously, as it’s me who has the flair, but you know what I mean.
I have so many ideas. Poor Lynn, it makes my heart bleed to think – but let’s not dwell on it. I will put it right. You WILL be married 🙂
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Haha! Are you sure you’re not a producer on ‘Don’t Tell the Bride’? Have you seen that? The sort of TV that makes you shout at the box – ‘Don’t you know your financee at all?’ and ‘Why did you let this clueless numpty arrange your wedding when you want to be a fairy princess and he’s obssessed with Star Wars?
Seriously, it sounds perfect, Jane. Only I can’t agree with your plans on the grounds you missed out the Barbie pink helium balloon arch and if I can’t have balloons then I’m just not interested 🙂
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That’s not fair – I was going to keep some of the details as a surprise, and now you’ve ruined that one – except the balloons will have to fit the theme – but although I’m pretty keen on psychodelia, it’s your big day and we’ll switch to Barbie pink if we must – but it’ll look like a big fat gypsy wedding and they’re SO vulgar.
Mind you, it will mean that you can have bunches of rosebuds glued all over the dress, and the bridesmaid can have lots of pink net, just like pretty fairies.
Do you have any friends who are getting married? I’ve already put a deposit down on the dahlias.
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I’m sure I can find someone to take the dahlias off your hands – I have connections. And you really should take up wedding planning as a new career – you clearly have a talent for it 🙂
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I’m glad you apppreciate my talents – this may shock you, but not everybody does 🙂
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Pearls before swine, Jane. Pearls before swine 🙂
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LOL!!!!!
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I love this and can totally identify with the sentiments behind it. To me the title might have been Dis – Graceful. Because it really is a matter of me not imparting the Grace to them I should be imparting to everyone I meet in some way. But this freedom and fun often makes me feel angry instead. Make any sense?
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Yes – it makes sense. I think that you and I are very similar in many ways, but we have had different life experiences. When you were young, were you cheated of that feeling of freedom? In spite of everything, I had it, and when I see adolescents being loud, I remember and I smile. The memories help me to retain some small nugget of youthfulness, and I’m grateful for that.
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Actually I was quite free when I was young. Especially in my teens. I think part of my discontent with that kind of behavior when I see it now (though it certainly depends on a lot on my emotional mood at the time) is that I buckled down and worked my butt off for years so I could experience some freedom again when the kids had grown, and obviously that’s not been forthcoming. So part of it is probably jealousy.
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Let the young love and laugh and act disgracefully – enjoy it. And embarrass the hell out of them as a disgracefully behaved older person 🙂
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Quite right – but don’t be nasty to them, and don’t spit in the street 🙂
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🙂
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I love being around young people.
I find them much more open to discussion with a stranger ( I’m as strange as they come!), than my generation ever was to our elders.
I like they way they think and how inclusive and tolerant they are compared to previous generations.
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I’ve never really thought about that before, but I reckon you’re right – not about you being strange 🙂 but about young people being more inclusive. I have close friendships with several people who are half my age or less. It may also have something to do with our attitude towards them, and towards growing old. In our heads, we don’t age in the way people used to – we’re more open to fresh ideas, and that makes us more accepting of youth.
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