BILLY THE KID

A story to tell as on the eve of the civil war it would come to be a birth.

An Irish neighborhood in New York City, November twenty third eighteen fifty nine.

William Henry McCarty JR. later known as the infamous outlaw Billy the kid.

A mother known as Katherine, a father unknown, a little boy would never know.

William H. Bonney would one day join the Lincoln County war, life would become short.

Legend tells that he killed twenty one men, later a folk hero is told.

Five foot nine he stood, blue eyes, smooth complexion, sometimes a friendly sort.

Some say he was a neat dresser, liked to sport his Mexican sombrero.

Billy was skilled with firearms, a cowboy, gambler, cattle rustler, he was an outlaw.

Sheriff Pat Garrett would come to hunt him down, Billy was only a kid, what waited for him.

He was cornered, shot and killed by a man, a lawman July fourteenth eighteen eighty one.

He was only twenty one when his life ended, a young man dies back in a time at Fort Sumner

New, Mexico, Pat shot him down, He was an outlaw but he was once a mother’s son.

Rest in peace Billy the kid.

Keith Garrett

HEART AND SOUL

Everything I’ve got, what’s Inside of me strong,

Pours’ out with energy, stopped I cannot be, give up I will not.

Stand and take notice as I conquer what Invades my spirit,

Emotionally grow do I, strength and power absorbed within this soul.

Heart of the lion, oh! I do possess, listen to me, hear me roar,

Weakness stares at me, such a pathetic coward It Is, look away.

Fear and sorrow attack and Intimidate who I am, rise up and fight,

Walking away, turn and gaze over my shoulder leaving It behind.

Hear what this man has to say, do you know that which lives In me,

I grow and grow fore I have the heart and soul.

Keith Garrett

BEYOND MY REACH

With my hand stretched to the sky I cannot touch the stars so high,

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

The wind, I cannot 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 cannot 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

GIFT FOR AN OLD MAN

He rests in a wheelchair, he does not walk,

An old man Is not the proper phrase for you,

A human being, a man with feelings from the heart.

Wheelchair bound, how much longer will he be around,

A wish may be granted, a grandson in a high school play.

There would be no way to go until a special man would make it so,

A wheelchair ambulance, a request to a boss, an offer from a heart.

On his day off, someone I know, Timothy Harling from an Indiana town,

My girlfriend’s son, a gift for an old man makes him on this day, number one.

An EMT, six foot seven but gentle as a soul can be, Southbend is where he dreams,

This is to you, Tim, to give of your self, make an old man smile and his wish come true.

Timothy Harling, South Bend, Indiana.

Keith Garrett

BETWEEN WHAT IS AND WHAT IS NOT

The universe exists all around us but do aliens really exist,

We can see the sun resting in the sky, no pot of gold over a rainbow.

Mountains formed, standing above so tall, not a Bigfoot between the trees,

The moon is for us a reality, no face or a man lives up there alone.

Ireland and green grass are for real, across the sea they do appear,

Leprechaun’s I have never seen, four leaf clovers bring luck in a dream.

Castles of old stand on many lands, stories of them for centuries are told,

Magical spells and fire breathing dragons, were they ever seen or felt.

Between what is and what is not are fables and tall tales handed down,

Fantasies and all that is real live in our minds or before us we see.

Keith Garrett

BETWEEN THE TREES

From the road, I step beyond, into another world,

Peaceful beauty is waiting as my morning begins.

No one here but me and whatever lives between the trees,

Listen to the birds high above, what types sing different songs.?

I step into the darkened forest with my feet crunching the aged leaves,

Quiet sounds are everywhere, things not seen, look close as they are to be.

Shadows move with the swaying branches just as they move with time,

Between the trees, there is a most colorful, landscape to take in, follow me.

There is life here that has stood for many generations, beyond history,

Between the trees, so many men and women have dreamed, all things seen.

Keith Garrett

BETWEEN MAN AND WOMAN

Dressed so beautifully under the open sky,

Underneath a leafless tree, this man and woman stand.

In a suit of black, a handsome man with her on a hill,

This beautiful woman appears’ dressed In a gown of color.

Where might they have been, fore which this occasion,

Between man and woman, love shared, love between.

Keith Garrett

BETWEEN GOD AND ME

Conversations i have had on many occasions in my life,

Have you ever listened? yes, I believe you have quite a bit.

The answers to the questions I have asked have been mysterious,

I may not at times agreed with you just as you were disappointed with my path.

We have a relationship, we both know not as close as we might be,

I’ve tried to be a good person but not as good as one can be, I can see.

These things between God and me are never perfect, maybe someday,

I’ll keep on trying, I know you’ll listen always and answer in ways not so easy.

I wonder why things go the way they do, the struggles and hard times,

Lessons to be learned I’m sure of, are pain and suffering ours so that we appreciate?

Between God and me are many more things to be learned and seen, together we’ll be.

Keith Garrett

BETWEEN DARKNESS AND LIGHT

The sun shines bright, it then fades into the dark of night,

Just as the heart and soul of a human crawl from the light into dark.

To hide from the pain and sorrow of a tragic day, hide inside and go away,

Try and forget in ways that at the time seem fine to a broken mind.

Trauma is a most unpleasant visitor as it has no sympathy or kindness,

Steals from one the smile and sometimes brings much fear, forever scars.

Falling, a deep hole in which a soul believes no escape, hurting the self appears the way,

A path of destruction with no turning back, but wait! there is surely a chance.

You found your way lost, between darkness and light, you must fight to make it back,

Something has happened that ripped you apart, not fair but it was gods will.

He knew you would fall, your test would be to find your way back from the darkness,

You climbed out of that hole and with his hand, you also found your way back to the light,

Today holds a piece of yesterday, forever a thought, life does move ahead, another today.

Keith Garrett

BEHIND GREEN EYES

The world is so puzzling to me as I think about,

I see many things on my daily trek around this land.

As the holidays are upon us there is much hustle and bustle,

People moving faster, too much of a rush as they burden themselves.

I watch the cars as they forget to stop at the crosswalks, racing,

I see the joyful faces and sadness that wanders from here to there,

The weather changes with a new season and I behind green eyes see it.

Everything appears before me, the morning light, a Winter night sky,

Walking downtown among the colorful lights, a fast pace and searching eyes,

Behind green eyes, there appear many coming Christmas sights.

Keith Garrett