Time, 1820, by Michael Estabrook

Time of the Old Women, by Francisco Goya (Spain). 1820.

Time, 1820

Father Time leers
between two old ladies
as they peer into a mirror
his angel wings still yet poised ready
as he raises his broom
to sweep them away
out of life off the Earth
their time has come
one is deformed, diseased, hideous
the other’s long nose hangs down
over her toothless mouth
but she’s relaxed realizing her youth
has finally gone for good
and remains resolved as if waiting
for her wedding
to the Devil himself
in a sweeping
white diaphanous gown.

Michael Estabrook

​Michael Estabrook has been publishing his poetry in the small press since the 1980s. Hopefully with each passing decade the poems have become more succinct and precise, clear and relatable, more appealing and “universal.” He has published over 20 collections, the latest being Bouncy House, edited by Larry Fagin (Green Zone Editions, 2014).