Old Man River at House 52

Rocking slowly on the front yard
Old man River sharply sits guard
With gun in hand, squinted eyes
All the kids want to see his demise
Smokes about twenty packs a day
As he watches all the children play
His tired old dog sits there too
The kids know he waits to pursue
For his final run around the block
See out the last seconds of his clock
So the kids stay clear of house 52
Well, if you were them, what would you do?