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 

   WHEN IT'S THANKSGIVING

To be thankful on such a day, as we awake to peace in our homes,

A warm fire in the morning, coffee, and possibly the paper to read.

A parade is tradition each year in many places, turkey in the oven,

Today will be most special as family will gather in places everywhere.

A table with a feast set to celebrate this occasion that began so far back,

Different foods are shared throughout the land, favorites prepared.

Ham, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, as well as many other treats,

A chance to get re-acquainted with family and friends so long missed.

When it’s Thanksgiving, there is another side to the day, sad I’ll say,

Can we pray for the many homeless families, their stories we do not know.

We can wish them well, but they need a helping hand to lift them,

To the soldiers out there away from family, wishing they were home safe.

Let’s remember and think about them on this day. Are they okay,

                 Keith Garrett

       SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN BED

Woke to the sound of rain, an aching head to start my day,

Tripped over the cat that scratched me as I fell.

I went for the shower, but the water was turned off,

Out in the street they were fixing a pipe, won’t go back on until the night.

A cup of coffee would have been nice,

If only I had gone shopping instead of drinking last night.

I put on my pants to go to the store,

Couldn’t get my car out of the driveway; the street was closed.

Back in the house, soaked by the rain,

What to do on such a lousy day.

Couldn’t watch t.v., the cable was out,

Put on the stereo, the power went out.

A drip on my head, this can’t be happening to me,

The roof had a leak, only eight in the morning, kill me I say.

I walked to the store, bought what I need,

On the way home, a car drenched me, groceries at my feet.

Should have stayed in bed, I didn’t know,

Another drink and a pill, back to sleep I’ll go.

Forget the rest of the day, can you see how it’s gonna go,

Maybe tomorrow I won’t have to know.

          Keith Garrett

      ONCE ON THANKSGIVING

It was close to four hundred years ago, this story,

They traveled far across the water for a new life.

These English settlers landed at Plymouth Rock,

The first Thanksgiving happened in sixteen twenty-one.

It was not your today sit-down supper, much different,

Not a turkey, no cranberry or mashed potatoes, a different feast.

They would not have survived if not for help from the Wampanoag Indians,

The winters were very hard. Today we have it much easier to be thankful.

The first Thanksgiving lasted three days; duck was a main course,

The Wampanoags’ leader’s name was Massasoit, once on Thanksgiving.

               Keith Garrett

        BENEATH THE AUTUMN SKY

From up so high life goes on down below, this is so,

It is seen from above, from the heaven where we are to go.

Beneath the Autumn sky everything lives and has its time,

There’s a cycle of life, all things rotating as if it were a dance.

Watch as the leaves disappear from the trees, falling together,

They vanish, crumble, and blow away with the wind.

Beneath the Autumn sky there are colors of orange, yellow, and red,

Shades of beauty, which are here for the Fall season; they soon slip away.

A cool breeze in the air, animals collecting food for a Winter cold,

Beneath the Autumn sky there is life moving as all things must die.

                                             Keith Garrett