In the dark of night, this big house sits alone,

Rain is pouring down, thunder and lightning around.

Tree branches blowing in the wind,  scratching on windows,

 What watches from this house,  is someone beyond these walls?

No lights are ever on,  just the moon’s glow that comes from above,

Could there be a fireplace of warmth that lights up an old house?

House all alone, without a phone, does someone there roam?

What is the story of such a house that’s all alone?

Keith Garrett

          BEFORE AND AFTER

There was a time when I was not here,

No thoughts, no name, or Identity were mine.

I had no pain or sorrow, not a thing for me to know,

Where was I before I became me, somewhere waiting?

A time will come when I am no longer here, will I have thoughts?

A name remembered, my Identity will not be this body or mind.

Again, there will be no pain or sorrow, I will be somewhere else,

Before and after, heaven-bound, where was I before my first sound?

        Keith Garrett

           ALL IN A DREAM

They call me old Dan Tucker, jack of all trades,

There’s a lot of love for the common people; we are alive.

I didn’t see the light of day for a while as I was shackled and drawn,

This depression was getting to me as each day was a lonesome day.

Life itself is a blessing, but I need something to lift me up,

My family is missing, and my hometown was burned to the ground.

I told my wife just recently, O’ Mary don’t you weep,

We shall overcome, we’ll find our paradise.

With a wizard’s magic, we left this horrible Kingdom of days,

We wouldn’t be the last to die as we were sent through time into the future.

We found our lucky town, now my Oklahoma home,

I’m going down to a place called the Pony Boy that’s open all night.

It’ll be a long walk home, but I’m on fire with energy,

With this little light of mine, I walked in the dark.

I went to places to drink, one called I’m a rocker,

Jacob’s ladder and ramrod.

I met someone who said she was the queen of the supermarket,

Strange as It was all in a dream.

                       Keith Garrett

              MAN ON A CORNER

Watching the sun go down, his stare seemed beyond the sky,

A child so young, from this corner, he saw them light up the night,

Run with your friends as the sun rises in the early morning light.

I have seen a man on a corner since my days of chasing butterflies,

Where is it that he goes, what thoughts clutter his mind on many days?

He begins back in time when he too watched a man on a corner,

Playing many childish games, we ran until the sun set in the sky,

Today, as the children play, it is I who becomes a man on a corner.

       Keith Garrett

                            WHITE  NOISE

She passed away, my wife from yesterday,

Where did she go? I’m sure heaven I know.

Is there a place in between?  a place never seen,

As if awakened from a dream,  I hear her from before.

Body and soul, energy and personality, we disappear,

Listen closely as the white noise enters your rested mind.

 A contact is a possibility, desperate to connect once again,

Somewhere out there, a piece of her survives, listening to white noise.

Keith Garrett

             JUDGMENT HAS A FACE

From behind a door, walking down a street, who are they?

They wander around, they look without a friendly sound.

With paper and pen, not a friend as they may smile but pretend,

Watched you are as you walk, speak, examined over a way you dress.

Judge me with your thoughts, but what is there to see in you?

I am judged by those whom I never see again, strangers, and some family.

Judgment has a face, not the same as it changes from day to day,

We are judged by the rotation of our world, traveling with the wind.

                                            Keith Garrett

          PLACES TO SEE

Going on a trip, I’m leaving my hometown,

Nebraska is no paradise to me now.

I’ve got this life, places to see, just a roll of the dice,

My horse is left behind; he’s called Pony Boy.

Somewhere out there is a lucky town, maybe Reno,

It takes none but the brave, a real man, to get up and go.

I’ll be missing things, but I feel trapped here,

Maybe there’s a little magic out there,

Maybe the price you pay to face it point-blank.

I’ll find me a man’s job, no more sad eyes,

I’m out in the street driving, looking for a place open all night.

I need some music, but I can’t find a radio anywhere,

There’s a place up ahead to eat called Mary’s place.

It’s sure been a lonesome day, there’s a whole world out there,

I’ve seen living proof.

I’m not going all the way home. I was on rocky ground there,

I stayed down by the river for the night,

Don’t want to break down, it sure would be a long walk home.

I found a job in a new town, the owner’s name is Mrs. McGrath.

I met a red-headed woman, whom I call Sherry Darling.

                  Keith Garrett

                  ARMS OF GOD

Outstretched, they reach far and wide, around the world,

Fierce and strong, they can crush or destroy what’s needed,

Careful and loving as they will comfort when the going is tough.

A being so full of mystery, with power and wisdom so unknown,

Creator of all that we know and more, the arms of God will carry us home.

Wherever you may be, within all that we see, they exist to help us up,

Touching a universe that seems to have no ending of discovery,

The arms of God are not to be seen as they are not a fantasy or a dream.

                                  Keith Garrett

            A PLACE TO DREAM

Away from here, far, far away, I disappear,

Possibilities await me; they’re only there.

Covered hills of grass so green, just you and me,

Beautiful trees, the warm, colorful sun between.

A place to dream where the wind can be seen,

Where the sky can be touched, a place to dream.

A tune to my ears, that which soothes a soul,

A song in my heart, one that speaks words of you.

Hopes and wishes, fantasies or dreams,

Is there such a place for these, a place to dream?

           Keith Garrett

                                                        DAD    

         A dad is special, fearless, and strong,

  As a child, I really believed that my dad was great.

I still do believe this, as I am now much older than he was,

Gone by the age of thirty-seven, as I was only seven.

Today I am sixty-four and full of memories about dad,

As a boy, I didn’t understand the burden of work, a job.

Dad was my hero; he came home tired and wanted peace.

He was not perfect, but he was Dad,  always showing us things,

 I remember the things he taught me as a child, forever in my thoughts,

 Dad, you were really the best. I love you, and I’ll see you again.

Keith Garrett