No Free Parking in Jersey

No Free Parking in Jersey
By Christopher J. Bradley
3/7/01 4:50:01 PM

When I exited into Jersey
The Traffic was fierce
But in a different way
It seemed like every car had custom rims.

The buildings were all compact
Like adobe brick houses on a New Mexico mesa
The asphault wasn't overly slanted
But tilted enough that you could feel the gravity.

There were businesses of all types
That I slowly passed by
But a lack of parking lots was plainly evident
And the streets were firmly lined.

It took me almost 30 minutes
To weave my way out of the small township
And when I finally got to the sign for the Garden State
I got forced left into a residential maze.

The red blue and silver cars were there again
Black Miatas and white jaguars were among them
I began to think they were leading me somewhere
In my exhaustion my thoughts were misplaced.

There was a purple heart monument
Clearly marked on one rightward channel
With effort I followed the signs through
And around.

I was so burned from the smoke and the sun
That I almost parked in the driveway to a home
But I continued on
and passed a little league baseball field

And then got lost in a dead end
Where a man on a riding mower
Was wearing earphones and it appeared -
That he was talking to himself.

I backed up and turned around
To watch a black crow hop across the street
And slowly wound a path
Back to a sign for the Parkway.