A SUMMER NIGHT
When the sun goes down and the heat of day fades,
A quiet visits the night, crickets are alive yet not in sight.
Darkness has a certain feel to it, peaceful is my thought,
While many living things drift off to sleep day begins too.
Stars so bright hanging in stillness beyond what is sky,
The moon shows its light, high above it watches always,
A Summer night has its own beauty till mornings light.
Keith Garrett
A STRANGER
Cobwebs and tumbleweeds, traces of life and the past,
A forgotten road not so often traveled, not anymore.
Where do they go, the ones we once knew and walked with,
More and more they become ghosts, faded faces from yesterday.
Time slips away slowly into my tomorrow where my memories are found,
Friends are now strangers, strangers are now my friends.
There once lived a woman whom i did not know. she lived her life without me,
In her there was not a thought of me, for me she had no meaning.
This stranger that i had not met would someday be the love a man could not forget,
Like the wind forever blowing, she has drifted, a stranger i never knew.
Where did you go! where did you go! a stranger i love, a woman i’ll never know.
Keith Garrett
“LAWMAN”
He pins on a badge, watches over his town,
Makes his stand against outlaws of the gun.
Saddles his horse, gun belt strapped on tight,
Leads a possee, chases those on the run,
A lawman is he from sun till sun.
Not a medal is handed for the life he will give,
He upholds the law in his long ago town,
Bandits and killers, he’ll hunt them down.
Lawman for the people, for those whom are of good,
He knows of his worth, he needs no reward.
Keith Garrett
I LISTENED TODAY
My day had changed, some people appeared to me,
As I was thinking of my losses and more too lose again.
Things become much brighter when you learn of a worse pain,
From a country, Guatemala is from where once they came.
Our paths had crossed for a reason I do believe, meant to be,
I gave them many things that were of help and worth far away.
A man told me of life as a child in a place much different than here,
A tortilla on the ground, brown and some green, a fight for this meal.
He spoke of trimming away the bad and eating what was left,
Of cheese that was molding after some days, clean away the worms, okay.
If we would throw upon the ground our food not wanted, pick up they would do,
His story of a father who died from sickness and hunger so that they could eat.
All the clothing I gave to them would be to those over there like gold or money,
Shoes for their feet, today such a great feeling, my plans had changed.
He said to me, ” If you think you’re full and had enough too eat, save half
For tomorrow, fore nothing matters more than the hunger inside.
I listened today to a man who was once a child in a sorrowful place.
Keith Garrett
A SIMPLE MIND, A HEART SO PURE
He lived a life of dreams, the world was a strange place,
A boy so different to others, he learned to run away.
A simple mind, called stupid for the way he saw things,
A girl he would befriend, under a big Oak tree they would swing.
A simple mind, a heart so pure belonged to this thinking man,
He saw all things in such a simple manner, a gentle soul.
Time would take him full circle back to where he started,
He would love, lose, and then love again, a girl on a swing.
A child of his own, married did he this love from childhood,
He had everything to share, sickness would take his love away,
A simple mind, a heart so pure would burry his wife under that Oak tree of before.
Keith Garrett
A SIMPLE DAY
Wake up to a mixture of clouds and sun,
Feed the birds and squirrels, it’s morning now.
A cup of coffee, no caffeine for me, a quiet thought,
The world is much to fast, faster than what I have come to be,
I can now get things done, the way I want it to be for me.
A simple day in the rain or sun, I have some time to have some fun,
At the computer my thoughts are given out to the world.
A simple day, nothing gets in my way, I can keep to myself,
A movie, a show, exercise that keeps me healthy and ready to go.
Keith Garrett
A SAILOR
A sailor talks of far away lands and the ports where he would like to be,
He relates to all in a salty drawl, his love for the roll of the sea.
Let’s hear him boast of powers so great, let’s hear of his deeds so bold,
Let’s hear him tell of seas of hell, and the treasures he’s bought and sold.
Let’s hear his yarn of the south sea Isles, his romance on balis shores,
Or the girl he had with eyes so sad in the land of the sliding doors.
And let me tell you what you never hear, of the loneliness that tortures his soul,
When the sun’s last light gives into night, he’s a dreamer, not a sailor so bold.
Yes, a sailor dreams when the sun goes down, and the wind lies slack on the sea,
Of the heavenly bliss of a woman’s kiss, and the home where he longs to be.
There a lamp burns low thru the lonely night, there a heart waits patiently,
There tears are shed as a prayer is said for a sailor who dreams at sea.
To live his past let no man wish for there is more than the tales he told,
Though his laugh is long and his heart is strong, inside he wrestles his soul.
Leon Russell Garrett
A MINUTE FROM HEAVEN
I live a life that seems more than half way done,
Started at a beginning, seen more than sun to sun.
I’ve walked this land and had my share of pain,
Friends whom have come and gone, love them just the same.
A family through struggles and laughter,
Children grow up so fast, will they only remember my name.?
I had my share of good, other things I’ve paid the price,
All i ask of you dear lord is that you consider my fight.
A minute from heaven is what we have each day,
Step by step when the time has come, would you kindly show me the way.
Keith Garrett
A MAN, A GHOST, AND
A WOMAN IN A DREAM
I watched a man as he traveled the road, he sees,
I travel the road fore i am a man who sees, whom dreams.
Many a ghost are known to me, a ghost of a man,
Of this world no more or of my life much distance.
A woman in a dream appears before me, she sleeps with me,
Her face is known to me as i sleep, as i dream, i see.
See me as i am, emotions run deep, a man of a thousand thoughts,
Seen from my eyes, seen as you are, i am not a fantasy, no dream.
A ghost is a memory, a vision of once was, things from yesterday,
A ghost to some as i live and breathe, one day a ghost in eternity.
She may be one that you think of, one that you dream about,
A woman in a dream, your dream woman, a life’s dream to be.
I am a man, I know of ghosts, and i have seen a woman in a dream,
Today, tomorrow, and yesterday.
Keith Garrett
A MAN WITH AN AX
Wood needs to be chopped, it sits waiting, many types and sizes,
Fall is in the air, chillier the air turns, work must be done.
A job it is to chop enough wood to warm a home for the Winter,
Must be done, perhaps no fun as it is an accomplishment to be proud.
Stack it in a pile, carry it piece by piece, chopped and split wood for a fire,
A smell, can you take it in, smell the aroma as it’s cut, stronger it grows.
A man with an ax gets this job done, he sweats from morning till the setting sun,
Swinging an ax, working as the cold moves closer,
The wood pile will rise higher.
A man with an ax is strong and determined,
He will succeed because he knows of its need,
When it’s done, a Winter of warmth,
When the setting sun, he knows the job is done.
Keith Garrett
