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

GOD IS IN THE RAIN

Clouds form, they turn dark with storm,

Drops fall from the sky, cold and warm.

More and more as they touch treetops,

Drip by drip they trickle down to the ground.

Into the rivers, flowing into the oceans as one,

Drops of rain cover lakes, slowly filling with time.

From the mountains, the water makes its way down,

Soaking the hills to create life, within the flowers and grass.

Let the rain fall, God is in the rain, In the drops that are upon you,

God is in the rain as it comes down, God soaks this world with life.

Keith Garrett

GLIMMER MAN

When he moves it is that he can not be seen,

Like a shadow that stays not in the same place.

He moves as the wind moves, never is he observed,

Like time, Just as a ghost moves along without notice.

A phantom, a spirit in the night, exists he does,

If you become the prey, if seeking you becomes his game,

He will find you, not a soul can run from what can not be seen.

He is the glimmer man, his job is to eliminate,

Keep from being the hunted, he has a name and knows his game.

Keith Garrett

BEACHES AND OCEANS

To love the beach, walking along the sand so warm,

Looking ahead of me at the pier in the distance.

The feel of the wind as I’m walking along the wet, sandy shore,

The sun shining in the sky, seagulls flying in search for food.

My thoughts are of many things as I dream of life’s pleasures,

At peace, I am strolling along listening, always listening.

The waves are a beautiful sight, musical tunes crashing upon the shore,

The horizon seems like forever as I stare in silence at its mystery.

Shadows from clouds darken the ocean but only a touch,

The wonders of life that live beneath the waters are seen from within.

Beaches and oceans have been forever,

There’s a great love for me as they go on together.

Keith Garrett

AN UNCERTAIN AMERICA

Crime in the streets, it goes on in the day and by dark of night,

Anger and mistrust are now an epidemic of disease running wild.

Shooting guns are everywhere, open your eyes, beware as the enemy is here,

We are hated but laughed at all around this spinning globe, we are weakening, they know.

It is us who are deadlier, more dangerous than those who surround and invade,

Standing together we pretend, we are each one on our own, make no mistake, we are alone.

Our lives matter but only to us, there is no high power who cares if we survive or turn to dust,

Can you see it? every day the horror encircles our American way, we slowly decay, soon to go away.

An uncertain America where the flag moves slowly down, shredding a little each day,

Something wicked is coming soon our way, be well prepared with trust only in yourself.

Keith Garrett

MIGHT GOD BE A CHILD

Never a picture of God, thoughts of a face like ours,

As a child, as children did we wonder or believe more,

The Innocence of a young mind holds fantasies of many.

Playing in a kingdom just as a child plays in the park,

Could this place be for a mysterious boys’ amusement or not?

Might God be a child, Is this why we grow old and die,

Possibly a magnificent little boy who created it all.

When there was nothing was there a who to think there could be something,

Might God be a child? If so then how might this soul have been created,

How did we go from nothing to something, was God born from nothing?

Keith Garrett

AMESBURY, MASSACHUSETTS

My thoughts and memories go way back In time to a faraway place,

Not so far In distance anymore as the distance In my mind, Amesbury.

There are times when I can smell the air and still feel the cold, snow,

I remember I was only four and a half, I do recall that far back, East.

My eyes can see those purple grapes on the vines, the hills up above our house,

Playing with my friend Donnie, we had many adventures as kids back then.

I’m not really sure but there appeared to be woods or trees down our street,

I remember riding my batman bike, a cellar outback I do believe, not a dream.

I had a bag of blocks, all different colors and shapes, I was just a small boy,

I can remember the snowstorms that put the power out, I can see candles In the house.

A memory of being In my bed staring at my Herman Munster head on the dresser,

Coloring books, cartoons such as Milton the monster show, Christmas Eve snow.

Icicles hanging from rooftops, making snowmen out In the freezing cold,

Sometimes I want to go home, back to where It all began, when I was most happy.

I remember laying on my parents’ bed, staring up at a full moon, when will they be home,

I think of a dad out In the snow, can somebody answer me, where did he go.?

Throwing snowballs Into the street, cold through my gloves, I remember me,

So many memories locked Inside the mind of a long lost child once upon a time.

Amesbury, Massachusetts seems like a dream, A story written from thoughts of a child,

There once was a boy named Keith, he had a life that’s been written In a book put away.

It sets on a shelf but never does It again get read, thoughts that rest forever In a man’s head.

Keith Garrett

SECRET FRIEND

I was a small boy when first my friend appeared,

So long ago as now it is that I am much older than.

A friend that was there whenever I was lonely and scared,

I did talk to back then, laughed and ran in a field of weeds.

As I got a year older this friend was not by my side, wandered,

I would meet others and my friend would stand across the street,

Pacing back and forth, I was growing older as my friend remained a child.

Slowly I had not much in common with my secret friend, the games changed,

The more I wandered and found, the further the distance between us.

My secret friend was leaving me, I couldn’t hold on as much as I thought I wanted,

My friend was leaving me as it was time to go, just as I went away, a friend no more.

Keith Garrett

REAL AND MAKE BELIEVE

The sun rises when the night disappears,

The moon has no cheese, the man does not appear.

Love can be very real, pretending to love, a sad ordeal,

Hate is real, thoughts of murder over it, a nightmarish fairytale.

A walk along the beach a reality to be seen, sky will not fall down,

I have seen sadness fore it is not make believe, happy may not be real.

The world is full of beauty and in a state of scary affairs, it’s seen as no fantasy,

Cartoons are not so real just as heaven is real but a fantastic dream not yet seen,

Real and make believe, what a child believes, an adult’s living reality of dreams or screams.

Keith Garrett

ONE MORE DAY

Am I dreaming, selfish to expect or assume another chance,

A breath, watching the sunrise to a brand new day, see and be.

Why do I believe that my time is forever, but what may forever contain,

Is forever now, another moment, another day is so much to ask for.

One more day has been for so long a fantasy guaranteed, a child believed,

A long life is a miracle fore God gives us moment by moment as he sees.

We live one piece at a time, a puzzle with a number that tells of our life scenes,

One day at a time, to see the sunshine after a new morning light is a beautiful sight.

Love and cry under another evening, Summer sky, one more day not to say goodbye,

So many wonderful treasures and pleasures that have to be left behind, seems unkind.

One more day to play in the sand, listen to that favorite song walking hand in hand,

One more day to understand that we have only a limited time to be woman and man.

Keith Garrett