𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠𝔦𝔞𝔫'𝔰 𝔚𝔬𝔯𝔨𝔟𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔥

'Warning' - poem by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick flowers in other people's gardens And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Its dark at 4 and frost covers the pavement in the morning

𝔴𝔢’𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔴𝔬 𝔰𝔱𝔲𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔰𝔱𝔲𝔡𝔶𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔦𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔯𝔶. 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔱𝔲𝔡𝔶 𝔱𝔬𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯?

𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔤 𝔯𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔰 𝔦𝔫…

Antique Chinese Mother of Pearl Opium Pipe Set c. 19th Century

Scarabs from the Metropolitan Museum Of Art

pharmacist’s display

my heart bleeds everyday for the afghan girls and women. they are housebound and have to cover themselves up from top to bottom because they have to "avoid temptation or seduction". they are not allowed to speak in public or appear in public because it is deemed "too intimate." the women can’t look at men. suicide rates have skyrocketed because women and girls would rather be dead than to be a women in afghanistan. it’s not a sin to be a women.

women and girls are denied access to healthcare because they cannot be treated by male doctors, yet they are also barred from education and, therefore, cannot become doctors themselves. shops in afghanistan are even forced to cover up female mannequins. little girls live in fear of becoming child brides, but they dream of being poets, they would kill to get education.

a woman was disqualified from the olympics because she spread the message "free afghan women" at her breakdance performance. there must always be a relative male by their side like women were dogs being treated by their owner, except dogs have more rights than the women suffering.

we must raise awareness, do not look away. these women deserve the opportunities and the human rights that EVERY person does. they are talented, creative and intelligent but men are so scared. scared of women. the taliban tries to erase women. i’m sick. remember: it’s not islam or "just their culture", it is the radical government that feels threatened by women. do not look away.

I am seriously BEGGING parents to prioritize bringing up competent people. The horizon, judging on my students, looks depressing. Please stop idolizing childhood and help your children GROW UP. Life will happen to them whether they know how to deal with it or not. It is so so so so much better if they do.