I will probably never get over
what aging does to women
the beauties of my generation
are no more

like faded flowers, villainous aging
robs them of their beauty
steals their overall allure

cruelly the theft of their beauty
has sometimes led to unkind
people

referring to them as hags
an inexcusable, unwarranted
affront

shame on them

I shouldn’t be bothered so much
by aging’s theft, and of course
it happens to men as well

but it saddens me beyond measure
when I see time and time again
the effects of the years

on the beauties of the past
and sadly, many of them are dead.

Bob Boyd