Nobody believed he would survive as he lay there dying inside,

This young boy of twelve shot by an evil man with no heart.

A father with a faith so strong would never give up on a son,

His family, friends, and a town were concerned about his behavior.

He took his son to a wide open field of green grass where he might heal,

Set up camp and began to pray while his son lay motionless, staring.

He would build an altar of stone with a cross placed upon the top,

Seen for miles by travelers, talk of this altar and father would also spread.

Night was falling, the sun setting, supper was ready, and a visitor would show,

An old man with a cane would ask, let me try as the boy would not take broth.

The old man asked, if he is not saved will you lose your faith,? No said the father,

The old man went behind the altar, the father followed and the old man was gone.

Nothing but distance all around, where could he have gone, the father believed,

The father now wore a beard as the next night a storm was forming, this be the night.

The old man appeared in the dark and told the father, go to the altar! now!,

Lightening struck the altar and the father fell to the ground, the night was done.

When morning came and the sun rose in the sky his family was there wonering,

The father stepped from behind the altar, a true miracle as did his son with life.

Keith Garrett

Where have i seen you, have i seen you before, how is it i know you,

Do you recognize this forever searching man as he seeks the path.?

I’ve strayed away from where it is i belong, not as lost as before,

Show me the kind hearted one who will walk with me as i search.

I’ve discovered and I’ve lost but throught it all much has been gained,

The miracle i have sought has not been for me granted at this time.

But perhaps a gift not chosen is the right and chosen gift handed to me,

Prayed have i for peace, happiness, and love, i watched for it day and night.

Do i not listen and am i possibly a bit clouded in these eyes of mine,

Are these things of want circling me always as my heart is closed.?

I’ve taken a step back from those whom may show care and concern,

I’m unsure and confused of which are friend or foe, how will i know.?

Some of those whom mean the most to me are not here, do not appear,

I am here, sometimes a little bit lonely, i await a soul who might care.

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

From sunrise until sunset pictures sit and stand everywhere,

Words are seen from our minds that form beautiful description.

A painting seen each day from different views, always changing,

The sun shining in morning light, glow from a changing moon in the night.

The stars shining far up high, on a clear, still, Fall night,

Mountains that have stood throughout time, they change as we change.

A boat ride across a lake on a warm, Summer night, something to write,

When Winter visits, a sleigh ride through the snow, through the trees we go.

To stand on the wet sandy shore staring out at the ocean is of pleasure more,

From the waterfalls to rivers, deserts or forests, pages of stories told with a pen.

The world be a poem, if never written then never be it told, write it before it’s gone.

Keith Garrett

Awake did i lying on the shore, soaked were my clothes,

Under the morning sun, waves crashing on the sand.

I think to myself about the last nights storm, i survived,

Unless this is a beautiful island heaven, I am alive!

Dry off in the sun, time to think and plan before this day is done,

I’ll find a spot to rest and sleep, what to eat, catch a fish, fruit possibly.

I need to keep a cool head as i might not be rescued soon, maybe not at all,

How am i blessed in my all alone mess, I’m alive! I could have died.

I can bathe, swim, find some wood, a fire is not an impossible task,

No crime or sin, Not a siren or noise that brings pain to an ear.

Not a threat against me except that of man against nature,

I can call this place hell or home depending on my outlook.

Quiet nights and peaceful days, walks along the shore okay,

Washed up on the shore, god is with me, judged no more.

Keith Garrett

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

Hatred, sickness plots against our homeland, they’re coming,

They’re here in this land, they don’t hide as their faces are seen.

Work with you they do, maybe a smile as they pass you by,

As good people they come in from all sides, they don’t have to sneak.

They step from planes with passports and go about their day,

Cruise do these monsters with no morals on ships, welcome to our home.

We have darkness from sea to shining sea, borders are without safety,

They come from there just as they are over there from here, grow with fear.

A flag they plan to replace with a flag that waves for over two hundred years,

Their message is clear, they say it with the murders of our people, we don’t care.

As they become stronger with power and weapons we sit and wonder but it’s real,

What’s really going on, can we trust anybody anywhere, we hope, don’t think so.

Darkness in America is growing fast, you can see it as the sun shines bright,

Pray that a day does not come when our children need to carry a gun in their hand.

Keith Garrett

He learned to heal as only a man can, he was human,

A womans husband dies, he loses faith in himself,

People he knew in a town also lose faith in a friend.

He was a doctor who did care about pain and suffering,

Angry at himself because he failed another, could not cure.

He was a doctor, not perfect in any way, not made of miracles,

He turned his back on his profession, he turned his back on himself.

He needed to figure it out, he went home, back to a simple life,

Working on his farm, away from the pain and death that ate at him.

This wasn’t who he was, down inside he was a healing man, a doctor,

What he realized, he was a doctor, not god.

Keith Garrett

Does god have a plan, what is his plan, could this be his experiment,

From our first breath until our last breath there is life in between.

The mystery of why we are here is perhaps overthought, what is this life,

We walk and dream in this short existence known to us as forever.

The meaning of life appears very simple and not so confusing dear one,

Sit back adnd listen as i give my heart felt thoughts of where we are and why.

Watch the trees, see them dance against the unseen but softly felt breeze,

Do you believe what has been put before you and me, understand the gift.

Love and laughter, pain and sorrow, must be a feeling for all to know,

All that lives is born to die, from the beginning of time we age and say goodbye.

See the mountain and walk its path, step by step, time will pass into tomorrow,

The sky travels, it is the clouds that guide the way, see all things that are dreamed.

The ocean will be, after on this earth you and i are but a memory, hear the ocean,

Put your feet into the sandy beach, feel the sand, walk along the timeless shore.

Touch anothers heart with the love and care that is possessed by you, reach out,

Let go of the tears of many years with a forgiving smile that lasts a lifetime.

If we see the sunrise, will we see the sunset again the same day,

Are we blind, do we take for granted the beauty of our world.

When it rains do we cry about that which falls down upon us, do we wonder why,

Listen for the sound, take in the drops of life that take us way on down the road.

The meaning of life and the world according to me is from inside all that this man may see,

God has laid these truly wonderous things before us, to see, too dream all that can be.

From this heart to you.

Keith Garrett

Traveling together were myself and a friend, a getaway,

Down the long highway we went, weren’t sure where we were going.

We started out driving, searching for that unusual place of discovery,

A forest, that would be our destination, we’re on our way into the day.

We travel along talking and listening to our favorite music getting close,

Further ahead of us in the distance they appear to our eyes, trees so high.

We’ll be going up a ways, where everything is so green and darkness within the trees,

We make our camp for the night, ready in the morning for our walk below the hidden sky.

Tonight a campfire, some food, laughing with a friend, and sleeping under a star or two,

Morning light shines down upon the land, we pack our things and head into the forest.

Dark, very dark as we make our way deeper among the ancient trees, where are we,

There’s something up ahead, can you see, a light in the forest, we’ll be okay.

Keith Garrett