" FACE OF A MAN"


 Look my way, stare Into these aging eyes of green, 
 I've seen,

 Hair of a lost blonde, long gone, reflections' 
 Of change.

 Once whiskers' of a darkness, now a different shade 
 Of life,

 A smile always the same If not hidden beneath sorrow 
 Or pain.

 Lines appear on this face when seen through the days'
 Sunlight,

 Growing older but never so old as to give up the search, 
 I'm searching.

 Through the tears' laughter finds' a face of love wanted, 
 My face,

 Look my way, this Is the face of a man, expressions' 
 Of thought show through.

 More than a stare, a smile, or many pictures combined 
 From a world of time,

 Take a closer look, give one more stare, understand 
 The face of a man.

                    Keith Garrett  

                                                                                                
                  HANGMAN


 On a dirty street, in a western town back in time, 
 The gallows,

 He is the hangman, stands always still as the shadows 
 Drift with time.

 He is everywhere, face covered always in a mask of 
 Darkness,

 Not a ruler  but he holds the authority to life and 
 Death.

 A noose hovers, it sways with the wind, waiting for 
 Those whom sin,

 You  didn't just break the law, the ultimate crime 
 Lived in your mind.

 A life you did take, murder will get you a date with 
 The hangman,

 Many years ago when life was hard on the trail, guns 
 An every day tool.

 When a man chooses the wrong road, decisions of criminal 
 Deeds will do him in,

 The hangman will watch as you climb the stairs, each 
 Step you will sweat.

 A choice you have made, time to pay, the hangman does 
 have his day.
                Keith Garrett

            THESE BOYS' OF SUMMER


 They come to play, these men of the field,


 All dressed the same for this game they don't fear.


 Nine men with a number and a name on their back,


 The goal Is to defend and conquer this enemy who
 Will attack.

 A crowd will gather In support of these warriors' 
 Well trained,

 They'll cheer till the end, this battle of power 
 Tat has its own name.

 One by one each stands' at the plate,


 As one lone attacker throws' his weapon their way.


 With a bat In his hands' he defends' his ground,


 A crack that echoes can be heard If he strikes back


 At him what was thrown from the mound.


 They dive and they jump to stop what's sent their way,


 To hold back the attack of nine men here today.


 These boys' of Summer who fight to become


 Champions' of the game, to be remembered for 
 What they have done.

          Keith Garrett

                  YEARBOOKS


 Forty six years old, dust and cobwebs, they 
 Waited for me,

 These books I remember during my years at a 
 long ago school.

 Bernardo Yorba is where I made my journey on an 
 Early morning cruise,

 When I saw those yearbooks, what memories they 
 Brought to me.

 When I opened those yearbooks there was before my 
 Eyes, yesterday,

 Turning the pages showed me many ghosts of friends, 
 Images from the past.

 I picture them moving along across the school campus, 
 Laughing as once before,

 The sounds of those school days I can hear in my head, 
 Looking through books.

 Action shots from our years at a school, Bernardo Yorba, 
 A little fun back then,

 Pictures of teachers, some are gone now, their voices 
 Echo through yearbooks.

         Keith Garrett

                THESE THINGS' I DREAM


 Within myself, thinking of  a place In another 
 Reality,



 What lies around me may be a different 
 Consciousness.



 This state of mind as I am not awake, floating, 
 floating,



 I see a world like never have I Imagined before,
 I see.



 Visions' sent to my brain, pictures of stories past 
 Or future,



 These things' I dream, a mystery from an eternity.


                                                                               
 Keith Garrett                

                 IMAGINE THIS!


 Take a moment and Imagine this! love so real,


 A most special love, only to a woman who can't
 Be.

 Think of a world where pain and sorrow are only a
 Myth,

 Where laughter and smiles wake you to each sunrise.


 What If hunger and sickness were but a childs' 
 Nightmare,

 Selfishness and hate were a demon caged In a place
 Of nomore.

 Could love be forever as the moon shows Its' face In 
 The sky,

 Ask this beyond the sky to where heaven lies, Is all 
 Possible.

 Imagine this! Is a kiss just a kiss, to the blind 
 Hearted only this,

 To eyes that meet anothers,' a connection may 
 Forever exist.

 Imagine this! If dreams' and wishes came true, I 
 Dream of you,

 Your special wish would come true, Imagine this!


               Keith Garrett    

           DO YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE?


 They are shadows of friends' long since gone,


 They are men and women, friendly or not, they are,


 They stand there co- workers', strangers' not 
 Yet known,

 Husbands' wives, boyfriends' or girlfriends' past 
 And present.

 A chance there's a brother, sister missed for 
 some time,

 Ghosts' from memories of a long time ago, friend
 Or foe.

 A mother or father, one for a while missed, the 
 Other forever,

 Once stood where you could see, now shadows In 
 eternity.

 Do you know these people, can you recognize 
 Their faces,

 From different times and different places.


                                                                                
         Keith Garrett                       

                WORDS' OF SADNESS


 Goodbye from the lips' of a woman loved deep
 Inside,

 I miss you, I miss you, Is a heart felt cry, 
 I die.

 Hate Is a word so strong that It sickens' the 
 Soul,

 Death has a sound, an ending all of Its' own.


 Lost and sought but never again to be found,


 Words' of pain, these words' of sadness.


 Remembering love, remember It well, a word,


 Letters' of words' of sadness, sad but true.


 Are names but words' remembered but wished 
 Forgotten,

 Wanting and regret rest In the spirit of a saddened 
 Man.

 May words' of sadness turn to those of lessons,


 May sadness fade Into words' of a happier today.


          Keith Garrett              

                   INTO THE WOODS


 Leave behind the concrete jungle and every day 
 Expectations,

 Step out of your work shoes and Into another 
 Frame of mind.

 Away from the pain and sorrow of what a love 
 Destroys,

 Your heart and mind, leave far behind.


 Walk your feet Into a world of darkness,


 Hearing only the crunch of what's beneath you.


 No stress or the fast pace of It all,


 Only trees that watch as you pass by them all.


 Where all Is quiet except creatures that stir,


 This Is a different world where you will not be 
 Heard.

 No worries or crying over what's out there,


 Into the woods, alone I am there.


                                                                                              
 Keith Garrett  

                                                                                     
          I AM NOT A RICH MAN

                                                                                           
             BUT RICH I AM


 I do not own a home or a treasure chest of gold,


 Stocks and bonds are few, diamonds are a little too.


 I am not a rich man as calculated by statistics and 
 Daily man,

 A special car or a vacation home does not show of 
 My value.

 I am not a rich man, estimated by paper money or 
 material things,

 But rich I am, If life is valued in a simple way, 
 Just a regular day.

 These things are free but of gold bars to me, listen 
 To what makes a rich man,

 If love is in your day then rich you are in a most 
 Special way.

 I can walk and see with my every day, I breathe freely,
 I'm okay,

 A roof over my head, clothes on my back, never to bed 
 Am I hungry.

 So much can cost money, beauty, staying healthy, a 
 song you sing is free,

 but rich I am, with that which is mine and my thoughts
 Every day.

                  Keith Garrett