Saying thanks to all of you whom do take the time to read my writing,

About two years ago, maybe a little longer i was hurt on the job.

Here’s where my life changes as i worked for six months waiting,

With tears in my right knee each day i walked back and forth to work.

Through all the games, lies, and a boss who was and still is a pathetic man,

I worked from morning till done, the same heavy load as if not ever hurt.

Finally surgery was approved and done, today not the same as i once was,

I speak of my panic disorder as it takes from me, a boss who so cowardly.

The harrassment that made this panic much worse as today a lawsuit still here,

After eighteen years to resign so as to gain a 401k, money runs out with fear.

Where i sit today with panic and pain is not the end of my world, i write to you,

Forced to retain an attorney as my job was threatened with lies and not a care.

Although i have done nothing wrong i am punished as a criminal, job is gone,

I only wanted help and what i got was stabbed in the back, blood flows unseen.

More surgery needed but i wait a waiting game as i am the one who does suffer,

A company, Armstrong Garden Center’s not so wonderful are they,

A man, let’s just call him one for now, a name Mike Wigler, angers me more.

I’m at the mercy of many things at this point, I worry and sleep not so much,

I don’t surrender, i workout each day in pain, work in the yard, still dream.

I’ve lost a lot, learned too not trust a bit more but i will survive.

Keith Garrett

A part of this world, i have a soul and spirit,

I am a man with a heart, i try to understand.

At times i do listen, not as often as i should,

The struggles within me keep me from the best i can.

Hard headed but strong, i work with my hands,

Children i gave much of myself too,

Possibly the day will come when they understand.

I am a writer of words and thoughts,

I let the music fill my head.

Sometimes anger and hate invade my not so perfect land,

Many miles of walking clear my aching head.

Mistakes I’ve made in many a way,

I am a man, trying as hard as i can.

Decisions and choices from long ago,

Make me who i am, who i am sometimes i don’t know.

I pray that the judgement of others is not that which will come from god,

I am a man, hope you will understand.

Keith Garrett

A husband now gone, a lifetime spent together,

She has a life, not young anymore but a human being.

Everything has changed for this nice lady of an older age,

Taken from her home where comfort was her daily friend.

Cast aside in such ways, disregarded as a person due to aging,

Sad as the family she raised now takes away her Independence.

From once a baby now treated once again as a child, I watch this,

They wait for her to go, out of greed they seem not to care,

She sits by a back door, it seems her life is left in a chair.

Keith Garrett

Nineteen sixty two is when my life began,

Born in the Winter in a snowy Eastern land.

Amesbury, Massachusetts so far from where i am,

The past comes to visit me, memories of a man.

A mother, a father, one still lives on,

Father of a child went away while i was young.

I think of a home, a place in the snow,

Icicles hanging from the roof, a snowman standing tall.

Batman, on a small bike i did ride,

Snow covered branches, lightening in the sky.

Building blocks of many shapes and colors,

A monsters head rests on my dresser, Herman was his name.

Names i remember, where are they now,

A best friend by th e name of Proventure, Donnie it was you.

Bonnie was his sister, Hamilton’s I recall,

Two brothers, Johnny and Jimmy, a sister i now know.

A hill by the name of poe or pole, a dream in the snow,

Grapes on the vines, tree branches below,

My hometown of Amesbury, so long ago.

Keith Garrett

A light shade of gray evenly covering that which lives below,

Clouds so heavy and thick with moisture ready to rain down.

In the early evening as the sun fades many shades of color,

After dark on a clear, stary night you can see forever high.

Big, white fluffy clouds of many shapes sitting still above your head,

With the wind you’ll see their shapes change and drift slowly away.

Thunder and lightening visit a dark, stormy day, the sun is there,

Hiding beyond the blanket of nature, the sun still shines without sight.

An always changing sky, never the same throughout any given day,

The sky is always there, it is the elements that move through and change it.

Keith Garrett

You were there, all of you were everywhere, stood before me,

We laughed together at recess, ran and played many school games.

After school basketball with a friend like you, one on one under the setting sun,

Walked back home saying see you tomorrow, goodnight my long ago friend.

Together we took that slow walk to school, remember being kids before we were grown,

Standing by the vending machines, by our lockers we spoke of dreams and silly things.

Do you remember me as i have never forgotten you over these years that have past,

You were friends scattered around a town, now scattered throughout the world.

I saw you yesterday at the doughnut shop, at the skating rink, football in the park,

I saw you on many rainy days, at the beach we all sat in the sand, swam in the waves,

I saw you yesterday, many miles, roads, and years from here, I saw you yesterday.

Keith Garrett

This is where we stand in a hostile land,

Politics and policies, rules and regulations.

Lights that say stop, tell us when we can go,

Punch a clock, we’ve become only a number,

This land is your land don’t you know.

Stand in line, give them your code,

Show a picture I.D. or too jail you might go.

Drive as you should, walk when you can,

Keep your thoughts to yourself in this American land.

Most whom do crime pay as they should,

Some with money walk away from their no good.

All around the world money’s the game,

Oh! what a world, we all have something to say.

Keith Garrett

I went to sleep last night, seemed to me that i was awake,

Clear were all things, not the same as would be a dream.

So far i did walk as seconds appeared to be a journey forever,

There were as i traveled odd and unusually mixed up scenes.

I heard your voice out there but what direction was not clear,

No control over where i am, my sleeping mind guides my way,

I was brought to you, I found you in the dark, darkness has gone.

Keith Garrett

The wonders of the world, for us he made,

A cool felt breeze on a Summers day.

Mountains that stand so tall up above,

Oceans and rivers, that which does live in them.

What makes god sad is the hatred towards one another,

The destruction of land for a dollar put in hand.

Thinking of only ones self, perhaps not lending a helping hand,

Murder, the taking of a life, this wasn’t his plan.

Pollution of lakes and streams, toxic waste not dreamed,

The air being destroyed, does anybody even care.

Abuse of all that is here, what man values is not what he shared,

What makes god sad should bring shame to this world.

Keith Garrett

I awoke last night to a booming sound, echoing across the sky,

Cracking like a whip was it as i lay there listening and wondering.

Thunder, louder it became, the sound of sparks high in the sky,

Very unusual as my eyes needed to see what this spectacle could be.

Nothing could i see except the sounds ringing into the dark night,

Did you hear it last night? it came out of the sky, i tell you no lies.

Like heavy footsteps across the clouds, horses galloping with no sight,

What was happening, was it something so real, was it just i who heard,

Did you hear it last night, did it bring you fright, was it from beyond the sky?

Keith Garrett