" ONCE I DREAMED"

One cold, chilly night as I drifted off to sleep, what did I see,

Something happening in front of me, all around as I am still.

Once I dreamed, baby, again it was you and me on a cold, chilly night,

Dreamed we were together, dreamed everything was alright.

Walking hand in hand as the days turned to night, this I dreamed,

A pretty smile your face wears, to see this I have to sleep, dream.

Darling, if only dreams could come true, then it would be you and me,

Once I dreamed again, standing in front of me was you, dare to dream.

Again I dream, a dream that stands in front of me.

      Keith Garrett  

     THE ADVENTURE OF LIFE

It holds many doors, different roads to choose from,

Chances are taken as we turn the page.

Life is an adventure, different chapters are written,

Only can it be wasted if we stand still too long,

Moving into the future, playing a different game.

We must read from different books,

Experience different tastes of another type of food.

We leave behind people and things; sometimes we must let go,

Carrying our memories or lessons learned into the future.

Sometimes it’s difficult to miss, but we learn to adjust,

Changes upon changes as the wheel keeps turning.

The circle of life is never-ending; nothing may stay the same,

The adventure of life is a most wonderful but hard game to play.

            Keith Garrett 

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THANKSGIVING MEMORIES

   AND YOU, MOM

Thinking back to many celebrations on a fall day,

I don’t recall those early life turkey festivities

Although many memories are gone with my mom,

There are a few great memories and thoughts of my own.

I think back to a time when I was young, ten I believe,

Yorba Linda was the scene, a family of many, back in a dream.

Living in Yorba Linda, nineteen seventy-two, Thanksgiving day,

Cool and windy is a memory of a time when family was together.

Memories of you, mom, young and full of life in a Yorba Linda town,

Early was a morning when you were the first up, turkey in the oven,

So much to prepare, we didn’t realize how much work when we were young.

Thanksgiving memories, days and meals shared as a family, as a dream,

Shadows and ghosts of children who once we were back in a town,

Thoughts of a mother who did have a life, a family once upon a time.

Time seems to pass by in a flash; we were there, and we are now,

Thanksgiving memories, and you, Mom, so many with you in the kitchen,

Kids running around, at times bothering you while you were busy.

I always go back to Yorba Linda in my mind as it was my favorite home,

Holiday memories, you won’t be here this year to make new ones with us.

We hold on to all the special thoughts and times we shared with you, Mom,

Thanksgiving will be a little quieter without your laughter or voice,

Memories of you and Thanksgiving too, from once a child, I’ll remember you.

   Keith Garrett, your son.

          A PRAYER

I WALKED A MILE WITH PLEASURE,

SHE CHATTERED ALL THE WAY,

BUT LEFT ME NONE THE WISER,

FOR ALL SHE HAD TO SAY.

I WALKED A MILE WITH SORROW,

AND NEVER A WORD SAID SHE,

BUT, OH, THE THINGS I LEARNED FROM HER,

WHEN SORROW WALKED WITH ME.

                THIS THANKSGIVING

What is this occasion that we name Thanksgiving,

A time and place in the past where travelers of Fall

Landed in a world unknown to them, a place to learn.

These people, known as Pilgrims, lived a lifetime ago,

Settled in a land known as the New World.

Plymouth Rock, ships landed along the unexplored shore,

Through hardship and bitter Winter cold, these men and women

Persevered; they accepted the challenge, they survived.

Learning as they did of a people different from they were,

Came together to learn and understand one another.

Working as one, sharing what was grown and hunted,

They lived each day; they learned of each other.

This Thanksgiving we slow down, pause for the moment,

Give thanks for what we have, for our health, for friends,

For those who love us and the ones we love.

                 Keith Garrett

    I REMEMBER,

So many sunrises, so many sunsets ago, I remember,

A place not forgotten, seemed like magical moments.

A town lost in time but never in this man’s mind,

A friend with a name that’s been spoken from inside.

Where did you go when the sun set, young man,

Forever you disappeared from me; where are you?

I remember when we walked the streets of Yorba,

We were free as two boys could be, Summers of yesterday.

Treasured are for me those wonderful days in the sun,

Skateboards and less troubled times for boys that could run.

A moment never drifts by that I don’t recall my friend known by me,

Marty was your name, pictures of you remain locked inside.

Something not finished, regrets and memories of less painful days,

I know of your loss for I have lost too. Take a walk back in time, dear friend.

I live each day in a place that knows my name, home is far away,

A wish to stand before you and say thank you for a day in the sun with a friend.

I remember my friend from Yorba Linda.

          Keith Garrett  

     QUIET DAY IN NOVEMBER

Each November there is a tradition, a feast for a day,

Appreciate and be thankful for what you think you don’t have.

So many lessons we have never learned in a country of anger,

A fast-paced life as we pass one another by, a face seen, a name not known.

When will we stand together as they did so long ago in sixteen twenty one,

Put all differences aside, racism, the color of skin, and all those crazy protests.

Let’s make it a quiet day in November, rest, be with your families, don’t take for granted,

Thanksgiving is easier, football games and a beer or possibly a few drinks to think over.

Enjoy your day as some can not have, eat more than you need as others don’t have,

A day of health and happiness is more than a material thing wished for too often.

So let’s have a quiet day in November. Have some peace for just a while anyway,

The Autumn leaves are falling, just as they did hundreds of years ago on a Fall day.

                                      Keith Garrett

           CAN YOU HEAR ME, LORD

Tears running down my face, this face created by you,

Lie do I when to those I say there’s no pain, I cry.

It is you, O’ Lord, who sees me as I sit here searching,

Within myself the answers are not found; am I a good man?

Help me, rid me of this sorrow eating away at my crying heart,

Listen to me, can you hear me, Lord? Can you hear my thoughts?

Are you near, Lord? Are you with me as I ask of you to love me,

Comfort this foolish pain-soaked man of a thousand tears.

Let me hear of a song that says love still lives in our world,

Give me something to hold on to as I dream and breathe.

Can you hear me, Lord? Will you hear me tonight,

As I drift off to sleep, will you sit with me, will you say goodnight?

                  Keith Garrett

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   I'M ALIVE!

My heart beats; each breath taken is a breath not to be taken for granted,

The blood runs through my veins, and every moment is one I’ll see.

Herbs are fragrant. In the garden, life lives around me, darling,

The wind is felt upon my face as I watch the sun move across the open sky.

Something lost, and something gained as another day slips away,

Never knowing what to expect from another morning born, I’m alive!.

The air we take In Isn’t for free, the price we pay to live in God’s mystery,

Love holds no promises, love comes to stay, and love drifts away, I’m alive.

We are the fortunate ones. If the chance is for us to laugh or cry one more time,

share a kiss, a hug, take that last walk with a love along the ocean shore, once more.

I would like to say I’m alive! “Yes darling,” every day I’m alive!.

                 Keith Garrett   

     TREASURES OF THE LORD

Into the darkness I stepped, wandering down a road,

Left behind the trust and care for those who hurt my soul.

Alone I’ve stood on a hill so high, at the edge of the mountain,

There was nothing for me to see, blinded by humanity.

Is this place I am a creation of my own anger and non-believing,

Does darkness fade as the sun appears again for a blind man?

I’ve opened these eyes and learned to see his masterpiece,

The hills that are alive rest beneath God’s wide open sky.

The wind that sings as it blows through the ever so high trees,

Rain that falls below is a gift to us so that we may watch life grow.

From the sea to all that we need to be is for us because he,

Only he had a thought, the power to imagine that which we see.

Treasures of the lord were placed down from heaven,

Only the greed of a man has stolen that which to him belongs not.

Every time I open my eyes, the treasures of the lord are seen,

These are a gift, a reality that even the blind may see.

                   Keith Garrett