Morning came, the light did shine through an open window,

I am again alive! scattered clouds drift by and say goodbye.

The birds do fly, singing songs on their way through the sky,

Trees sway within the breezy day, branches of color along the way,

I see the world, I opened my eyes today.

Keith Garrett

On the porch she sits, telling us stories from her life,

Times and places of difference, tales from long ago.

She likes to knit watching life go on around her everyday,

Playing games with the children, watching a show, baking.

She does not walk the same, as once when she was a younger lady,

Eyes that do not see the same wear glasses that make scenes clear.

Hair of a color so different from the dark, flowing that once was,

Aches and pains from a lifetime of once energy and much play.

Grandmother, you were once a young girl just like me, a picture i see,

You have had such a life from many stories sitting on the porch, told to me.

You are grandmother, one day i shall be like you, telling stories of my own life,

Different times, I will age and have had a life, I will be one day grandmother.

Keith Garrett

Above from the wide open sky the sun shines ever so bright,

Will it warm our world always or one day say a farewell.?

What if the wind that we feel but can’not see goes away,

Will it again below across the hills and make the trees sway.

The glowing moon sits like a lighthouse in the sky,

Watching, always watching but for how long will it rise.?

The rain falls from the sky, from the clouds that drift on by,

Will the drops take from the earth the thirst so as not to die.

See the animals run through the woods and across the plains,

Today they live somewhat free, tomorrow will they be.?

We live, we love, dance to the music, sing from our hearts,

Search for the happiness that makes it all worth living.

There are things that may be never, things never lost,

Nothing lasts forever fore forever we are not.

Keith Garrett

With my hand stretched to the sky I can’not touch the stars so high,

Nor the clouds, a falling star, or the sun going down.

The wind, I can’not grab hold, a bird in flight,

A dream in the night, never a yesterday.

Beyond my reach is not my dreams,

It is not that which i pray for.

The hand of god I can’not touch, in my heart I can surely take hold,

It is not hope, nor faith, it is not a tomorrow.

Beyond my reach are many things,

Beyond my reach is not everything.

Keith Garrett

Fall has come to visit once again, watch the leaves float down,

The air changes here in this place, this place of change over years.

One thing that stands still here among change is an older apple tree,

What stories it would tell if only it could speak the words of man.

Beneath this old apple tree rests in a grave a man who once lived,

Let’s say his name was Ben, who was he, so many years before he was,

Ben was a family man with a wife and children on a small farm.

A good life as he along with his family did age just as the apple tree did,

Ben one day went away, the apple tree stayed, it has aged until this day.

Beneath an apple tree lies the body, the remains of a man, a memory,

Watched over and time spent, always, a man and a tree together they be.

Keith Garrett

We leave it behind, go only with that which we were born,

Over a lifetime we accumulate many possessions of love.

Material belongings come and go, of use for but a moment,

Why we treasure items made by another, there is a value.

These things we use in our everyday, tools, things of help,

Material things are not what rates us as human beings although

To some it is the measure of success of a man, sad as it is.

Worldly goods are sometimes earned and at times found,

Good in a person much more precious than gold from the ground.

Keith Garrett

For that which we do right or wrong, that which we believe,

We stand and fight with many words, march with raise fists.

Our rights in life are at times threatened by higher powers,

We do what we must as we know we are doing the right thing.

Punished if we go against them, we may just win but we lose,

There are many possible sacrifices as we exercise these special rights.

The price you pay whether you do it right or not can be much,

The way we live, decisions made, choices made, the price you pay.

Keith Garrett

Away from the mistrusting world that is what i call home,

Out beyond the hills, a place where peace is real, follow me.

My travel takes me to where no anger or violence can find,

Come along, join me where life can be as it should be, love and peace.

Above only sky, blue, clouds of many shapes passing slowly by,

Look! I told you it would be here if we just kept looking, do you see.?

Only grass beneath me, green for miles in all directions, sky above,

For a few moments i lay my body down upon this cool, field of freedom.

I can build a cabin, feel free to join me in my quest for a better life,

Warm fires on cold nights, walk outside to nothing but beauty everywhere.

Only grass beneath me, a better world, here i remain for the rest of my time.

Keith Garrett

She could do such unusual things without much thought,

Out of bottle caps she could make a crazy hat.

She could jump really high, almost fly,

Close her eyes and make an apple pie.

She could walk backwards while tying her shoes,

Dance around a pool while reading a book.

She could play the harp without her hands,

Tell you the time in just about any land.

She could watch a movie without a sound,

Recite every line while spinning around.

Aunt Penelope was a strange one indeed,

At the age of one hundred and fifty three,

Old aunt Penelope is still but a fantasy.

Keith Garrett

When i looked into their faces i saw hopelessness, lost,

Contact from their eyes was little, i saw shame, it’s ours.

We made and brought sandwiches and hot coffee to the hungry,

He was sitting there at a table in the park where many others gather.

Bundled in the clothing warn mostly everyday they are people, human beings,

They each one have a story to be told, listened too as they all have no home.

Called worthless, society as a whole turns their backs on them, are they not worthwhile,

I could feel the broken hearts from where i stood, a young one my girlfriend asked “are you hungry”,?

Yes! he replied Immediately, eating a sandwich in seconds, other words, “i haven’t had coffee in awhile.

These things taken for granted by most, I feel some shame as i worry about myself and my pain,

I didn’t put them there, this i know, i have the power to make a piece of Christmas for them better,

A handshake and a Merry Christmas back to us they replied, broken hearts, piece by piece mended.

Keith Garrett