Old Neva

What old Neva saw she never told

But once way back in the days of old

T’was said she saw spirits roaming and raving

And looked on to keep them from misbehaving

She sat morning to evening in her rockin’ chair

Looking hard and long into the “way out there”

Grown folks talk was she just weren’t right

Thinking she had her a second sight

What she need that fer?  Two eyes work fine!

They’d laugh and declare she’d done lost ‘er mind

She nothing’ but a witch! the town kids’ud say

Ware of runnin’ ‘er yard when it ain’t day!

Some troublemakers in town had made a name

Driving a big black car they called The Flame

A bet was on anyone who spent the night would die

Those boys were tough and reckoned they’d give it a


They made a big party of it and left behind

A buncha broke beer bottle glass and old melon rind

How the those boys laughed at Neva come next day

With her toiling and sweating to clean their mess away

“Oh Miss Neva! Bettah keep on lookin’!

Else dem goblins’ll be comin’ back spookin’!”

And they squealed their tires and sped on past

To find someone else to loot and harass

Neva’s back was bent ‘neath the hot sun

Ma felt sorry and made me help her get done

I gathered up that garbage and hauled it way

Old Neva didn’t smile but she ast me to stay

She served me biscuits and cold lemonade

With eyes that didn’t blink to give themselves shade

Staring glaring her eyes like stone

Seeing something dead and gone

I screwed up some courage from deep inside

Swallowed a bit to let it to toughen my hide

Then I asked ol’ Neva  why she rocked and stared

She didn’t say nothing just sat and glared

I asked once more she just turned ‘n’ spit

Stomped her foot hard and hollered “Git!”

Dark was up so Neva closed her eyes

Thunder and lightning tore up the skies

I run straight home a-caterwauling

Sure I was jinxed and God’d be calling

God let me be ‘cause he had other work to do

He took up ol’ Neva and her rocking chair too

I heard next day on the other side o’ town

A bolt of light’nin had struck straight down

People  puzzled because they hadn’t seeen nothin’ like

it before

Light’nin’ left ever’thing be  ‘cept a car with flames

on the door

Author's Notes/Comments: 

i like hte story of this poem, but i am not satisfied with the way the end sounds...

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Gunther Herzog's picture

This one is definetly my favorite from what you've posted so far. To improve that last verse, perhaps you could extend the idea a bit and make it into two or more verses to make it clearer?