WOODBURY, NEW JERSEY

 Woodbury, new jersey home to me self since birth
my very late mother (bless her long departed soul)
   slaved and toiled per accursed penury and dearth
tried her darnedest to create happiness while on earth

would be livid with rage at the lack of neighbors’ manners
   if spirit of said deceased returned to this home and hearth
so let this poem serve as springboard to communicate anger
   for whatever this literary effort might be worth.
 
this aged body of mine creaky, nearly
   out of steam, and well nigh lost track
of countless times auld lang coe sine
   and concomitant excitement

   filled past and long distant childhood
waiting for ole saint nick
to careen down chimney flue lugging
that humongous and bulging sack
or going out hunting

   (when this area mostly woodlands)
   awash with fauna and flora
   and not unusual for pop to bring home
a buck sporting many tiered rack

caught in the cross hairs of firearms
seemed like gendarme of the pack
now, which memories flood my noggin,
   akin to overflowing waters o the Merrimack

especially disconcerting with hostility
from youths politeness to lack
spouting expletives with flip of the bird
to us older folks who cough n hack

   similar to staccato machine gun fire
in terms of that barrage of flack
brings world word ii gunnery duty
as extremely frightful flashback

which utterly displeases this elderly mortal
and such behavior moi aback.
 
Born in this same house
on Leona avenue, this oldster doth dwell
which neighborhood once felt like heaven,
but now seems like hell

pet peeves arise with ever more frequency 
   from increased unpleasant encroachments
along this very narrow street
   some young hoodlum

   left trash scattered on property
   that blew everywhere pell mell
but also parks a slew of cars up and down
   both sides of this narrow thoroughfare

   blithely co-opting an unused driveway
by an elderly lady who lives alone
oh, or a male friend of his
who guns the engine of a rosey roadster

   at the crack of dawn
   and when confronted blurted out

   “i gotta do what i gotta do”
   these complaints, i feel a need

   (albeit anonymously)
   this doddering soldier of misfortune doth wish to tell
hoping the police can crack down e’en

if they need tubby rebellious and yell.
  
address and name withheld on request
on account to avoid getting preyed upon via ruffian's quest
so…please do not misperceive me a pest
but feel grateful (before being dead) to clear me chest
only a concerned citizen kane at best
and a harmless curmudgeon i attest.