the olden days

during those olden days
may a thing
we cannot even imagine now
were followed
and forced upon generations

faces were meant to be
in the whitest of tones
so on came the power
with lead particles

went into the skin,
bloodstream and eventually
ended a life
such was the price of beauty

men looked like women
they wore clothes
which were very formal
yet stated their class

they wore on wigs
making them look scarier than necessary
and carried canes

they too wore much powder
for nothing darker than fair
was accepted

poor women folk
wore whale's ribs
underneath their lovely dresses
to make them look grand
but they had a heard time
sitting down!

and corsets were all the rage
to make perfect hourglass- shaped bodies
for that was the trend then
not like now
where people want to be skinny

the olden days were harsh
but they had a sense
of style and pride
but class to match