A WISE MAN SAID


A wise man said, Never, angry to bed,


Let go of the anger or sorrow that 
Fills your heart.

Think before you act, be wise with your 
Choice,

Put your thoughts together before words 
Come out wrong.

Physical violence is not a last resort,


You've traveled too far, and now you are lost.


A wise man said you can't always get what 
You want,

Things won't always go your way,


Keep control and pray for another day.


If at first, you don't succeed, try, try again,


When the morning sun rises, there's another 
Chace, you'll have.

 A wise man said, but a wise man is he who can 
Keep a clear head.
                    Keith Garrett

      BEFORE AND AFTER

There was a time when I was not here,


No thoughts, no name, or Identity were mine.


I had no pain or sorrow, not a thing for 
Me to know,

Where was I before I became me, somewhere waiting?

A time will come when I am no longer here, will I have thoughts?

 A name remembered, my Identity will not be this body or mind.

Again, there will be no pain or sorrow, I will be somewhere else,

Before and after, heaven-bound, where was I before my first sound?

     Keith Garrett

February twenty-second, a day so long ago,

Nineteen thirty-nine,

A little girl born to this world, hello
There! Barbara Jean Cordischi.
What a year! The Yankees won the World 
Series, Gone with the Wind,
  
The Wizard of Oz was something special,
So were you, Mom.
World War two was coming, Life was just
Starting for you,
In the forties, you ran and played, 
Chased butterflies in the sun,

The fifties, you grew up a teen, rock n’ roll,

And Elvis were in.

For you, the sixties were of Marriage and

Children, a touch older,

So many changes in the seventies, a different place,

You were mom.

The years went by, decades watched 
Us grow, that little girl was chasing you,
You had a life, and now life has said goodbye,
The days are without your face,
We remember you always, Mom, We love and miss
You every day.
Happy birthday, mom,
Keith
        
    
      
     

Listen to the sound, close your eyes, and

Feel what it is that they speak,

Poetry cries out from these two hearts of

Musical inspiration.

They sing of dreams, possibilities of love,

Sadness around,

Separate thoughts, voices known well,

Together or apart, these men of imagination.

With so much emotion, from his soul comes

Words of hope,

Art Garfunkel stands as a dreamer in an imperfect

World.

This man’s guitar tells tales in magical tunes of

Rhythm,

Paul Simon is a thinker of the wonders that life

Holds for mankind.

Keith Garrett

 ELLEN DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

I think of how she liked to run through 
The field of flowers,

A smile so bright, as if not a care in 
Her world, memories.

We swam in the lake, laughing under the 
Hot Summer sun,

 Walking to school on cool, Fall mornings,
Playing along the way.

She went away, such a sad day as my friend 
Went far away,

I still see her running through that field, with her smile so bright.

If I listen on quiet nights, I hear her splashing in the

Water, her laugh.

I walk to school in the morning, wondering if she  
Is by my side or near
I get tears because Ellen doesn't live here 
Anymore.
Keith Garrett

    A MISSION FROM GOD

Sent down from heaven, an angel in 
Disguise,


Once he was alive, a man with a name.



A mission from god, an assignment of 
Much worth,


To help the common man,  a chance for 
Mankind.


In some ways, a lonely path, this spirit 
On a mission,


A faith so real while he attempts to guide 
The mortal being.


This angel that once walked his earthly 
Path, walks again,


Roams a land where possibly once taken 
For granted.


A mission from god to help man better 
Understand,


Don't take for granted, while you still 
Have a chance.
                 Keith Garrett

There’s no way to see it, search and

Search,

I watch for tomorrow as today live,

Only live.

If this next should be a blessing given

To me,

Will I see all the beauty that’s put before

These eyes?

Blinded by the past, painful memories

Still a vision,

Walk forward, I do, into perhaps tomorrow,

Seeking.

Dream upon dream, and hope everlasting,

Energy and strength will guide me from

This day.

Seeking tomorrow is a heartfelt thought

To be,

Seeking tomorrow, when it comes, watching

I’ll be.

Keith Garrett

   SHADOW RIDERS

Men crumble,  their sins they can  
Not hide, they run,

From the expressions on their faces,
Aging lines that haunt.

One of them runs, the other chases, 
They both run together,

One tries to hide his guilt and pain, 
The other Chases to forget.

Shadow riders, at different times, they are the

Riders, the other prey,

They are from a time of civil unrest, they kill and

Then die in a place for them.

It takes its toll, the hunt, and the run, tears from
Men dry up in the sun,

nothing more to be said, two dying men soon
Would be dead, Blood is on their hands.

With love, from Dad, Sean, Scott, Sarah

I go outside to these things I”ll see,

A life of pain, not simple or free.

I walk, and wonder what I’ll be,

If I get old as the sea.

There was a time I was just a seed,

I grew and grew to become me.

The day will come when it’s all done,

I’ll leave behind a daughter, a son, and a son.

I will laugh, you’ll hear no cry,

There is no time to sit and die.

What will they think of, my children,

These three?

That I love them all, one, two, three,

I have a girl, a boy, and a boy,

Every day they bring me joy.

There was a time I was all alone,

No daughter or sons to call my own.

Each day you live, remember me,

I’ll always love you, yes, you three.

Look to the sun, the stars, and the moon,

We shared all the Summers, they started

In June.

When we take walks together to all kinds

Of places,

In all sorts of weather, we see all the faces.

We play at the park, you laugh at each other,

I’ve been your father and also your mother.

I’ve walked you to school year after year,

And given a hug when you show a tear.

Sometimes you don’t like me, I make

You mad,

For the decisions I make, just call me Dad.

As you grow up, you will understand,

I walked with you all, and you all held

My hand.

We all start out small and grow to be tall,

As children, we believe in magic, you see,

Life wakes us up to reality.

Keith Garrett

 A WALK THROUGH WINTER

We set out early for our walk into the 
Cold, frosty day,

What a beautiful scene, seeing the morning 
Light shines through.

Large pine trees are all around, 
Standing high in the sky for quite a while,

Snow has settled on the ground, like a thick,
White blanket from a passing storm.

Having a little fun throwing snowballs at 
Each other, hiking through the woods,

Pinecones we find along the way of many shapes 
And sizes make a beautiful scene.

Icicles are seen hanging from rock formations as 
We head further along into the woods,

A rushing river of water is a sight, so cold it 
Must be, as it travels beyond where we are,

A walk through Winter, chilly winds blow after

Dark, into the night, again it’s Daylight.

Keith Garrett