LAUGH DO I,

                       SOMETIMES I CRY


  It's a face that I show sometimes to not let known,


  That my hurt inside is so very real, laugh do I.


  Humor is a tool that I use for safety and to forget,


  That things taken for granted can blow away with 
  The wind.

  I tell you for certain, yes! it is that sometimes I  cry,


   Alone, inside, or out loud by the moonlight.


   Laugh do I when I witness the every day rituals of 
   Wasted lives,

   Silly and ridiculous as their time slips away.


   Oh! to be sure, sometimes I cry if punished am I for 
   To much care,

   The love given to those who can't recognize or 
   Understand.

  If laugh do I, is it because happiness is within me or 
  A funny thought,

  Or hide what is perceived as pain and maybe a 
  Heartfelt loss.

  When sometimes I cry is it due to a wonderful 
  Emotional experience,

   Or the sadness that can be seen as I walk through 
   My life,

   Laugh do I, sometimes i cry.


                         Keith Garrett

                                    LET ME PRETEND



  I am somewhere else, far away from this,



  The only sound is of birds in the trees, happily.



  The crime filled streets and sirens are not with me,



  There are no voices of thought to ruin my day, I say.



   Everything is much louder in the real world today,



   Peace seems like a rare, lost, gift that will never be 
   Again.


   Let me pretend that I am not here where there live  
   Trash And fear,


   A little bit better, just for a moment, let me pretend.


                                       Keith Garrett

                                 LISTEN!


  Close your eyes and open your mind,
  Through your ears the sounds' will work Into your 
  Thoughts.

  When the wind howls It makes a sound,
  If a branch falls' from a tree, It cracks' on the ground.


  Listen as a plane screams' across the sky,
  To the sound of laughter In a yard near by.


  What do you hear when you listen to a song,
  The sounds' of Instruments playing along?


  Do you listen when a love cries out to you?
  Possibly what hurts her, you have not a clue.


  To nature listen, It has something to say,
  Enjoy the sounds' of every day.


                                  Keith Garrett  

                             AUNT PENELOPE


  She could do such unusual things without much 
  Thought,

  Out of bottle caps, she could make a crazy hat.


  She could jump really high, almost fly,


  Close her eyes and make an apple pie.


  She could walk backwards while tying her shoes,


  Dance around a pool while reading a book.


  She could play the harp without her hands,


  Tell you the time in just about any land.


  She could watch a movie without a sound,


   Recite every line while spinning around.


  Aunt Penelope was a strange one indeed,


  At the age of one hundred and fifty three,


  Old aunt Penelope is still but a fantasy.

                        Keith Garrett

                                  ARMS OF GOD


  Outstretched, they reach far and wide, around 
  The world,


  Fierce and strong, they can crush or destroy what's 
  Needed.


  Careful and loving as they will comfort when the going 
  Is tough,


  A being so full of mystery, with power and wisdom so 
  Unknown.


  Creator of all that we know and more, arms of God will 
  Carry us home,


  Wherever you may be, within all that we see, they exist 
  To help us up.


  Touching a universe that seems to have not an ending 
  Of discovery,


The arms of God are not to be seen as they are not a 
 Fantasy or a dream.

                                  Keith Garrett

                     HEY! HEY! THEY WERE THE MONKEES


   Hey! hey! they were the monkees, used to be here 
   But where did they go?

   Way back in the sixties they had their own t.v. show.


  They were all pretty silly and funny, an odd bunch,
  Wouldn't you say,

  People still love to watch them, oh! yes to this very 
  Day.

  Davey was English, a short sort of a lad,


  A voice made for singing, banging the tamborine 
  that he had.

   Peter was like Harpo, quiet but funny,


   A piece of the puzzle to make them as one.


   Mike played his guitar and could really sing,


   Somewhat as the leader to all four he would bring.


  Mickey was funny, had a voice, and could play the guitar,


   Back in the past, maybe a pop star,


   Mickey Dolenz, Davey Jones, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork.


                                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 who are of good,


  He knows of his worth, he needs no reward.

                             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 oaktree of before.
                                        Keith Garrett

                        A COLLECTION OF TIME



  From our first look, a picture, a baby book,


  Pictures in school, pictures in the park,


  Home movies and videos, memories of who we are.


  A collection of time, scenes and images from a life,


  A scrap book of many filled and turned pages to see,


  Photo albums created from places, times with family.


  A collection of time, pictures faded, recalled faces that 
  Change,

  All that which we hold onto, saved in boxes, dusty shelves 
  Of thoughts.

  A collection of time, memories in our minds, treasures 
  Left Behind.
                                     Keith Garrett

                            LAST NIGHT I DREAMED

  Last night I dreamed I lost a child,

  The horror, sadness, all emotions seemed so real.

   As if someone had taken him away,

   Searched did I everywhere, Oh! the pain.

   In my dream another gone, one disappearing,

  This was not real as I was dreaming.

  In my dream, I saw paper napkins floating 
  Sownstream,
  Representing the loss, them going away.

  In my dream I awoke, a dream within a dream,

  As if I now understood the full meaning.

  When I did awaken I felt relief,

  They did not die, they were not taken.

  It was truly understood, my children were now gone,

  There was some loss as they would not return.

  My children of who I loved so much were reborn into 
  The adult world,
   I'll forever miss the laughter and play of the young 
  Innocent ones.
                                         Keith Garrett