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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
try
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
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?