An Ageist Society Poem by Francis Duggan

They say a man is old when he stops looking
And a woman only as old as she look
And you cannot judge the book just by the cover
Though the cover often helps to sell the book.

I've known men who were greying in their twenties
And they were clearly at their prime and best
But they say a man is past his prime forever
When he has the gray hairs growing on his chest.

Life nowadays seems to be harder than ever
For older women and for ageing men
Since we are living in an ageist era
Where youth and beauty never fails to win.

The elderly boss admires his young and attractive secretary
And he has grown tired of his ageing wife
Just talking to her makes him feel years younger
And she has brought the spark back to his life.

But the problem with the man is he is ageing
And he is many years beyond his prime
And just talking to a young and nubile female
Helps him to turn back the hands of time.

I can understand why women who are ageing
To plastic surgeons lots of money pay
For a face lift that makes them look years younger
And dye their hair for to hide the tell tale gray.

With younger women they must keep competing
For they know that if their husbands from them stray
It may not be into the arms of someone
Of the same age or even older than they.

An ageist society is the society we live in
Where people are seen as old just a few years past their prime
And where allowances are not made for experience
And age to youth lose out most of the time.