THE FIRE HAS EYES


 It crawls across the land with an anger, a vengeance,


 It Is she whom consumes me, burns my soul.


 At times so hot that there's pain from a distance,


 My soul Is on fire with that which Is a woman.


 Such an anger Is possessed by an energy  brought to life,


 She can be warm and friendly or danger In the night.


 Destroy all that's In Its path, no conscience, no 
 Remorse,

 The fire has eyes, It follows a chosen trail, It shows 
 What hurts.

 The glow of Its light Is an amazing and beautiful 
 Sight,

 Reaches to the sky, touches all that's within Its 
 Flight.

 The fire has eyes, searching for that which gives 
 It Life,

 She Is noticed from a heart that beats heated from 
 inside.

                Keith Garrett

                    WHAT HAPPENED TO 13


 It was there before me, I was a teen of the seventies,


 Nineteen seventy five, 13 and very much alive was I.


 The world was seen through my dreaming, green eyes,


 That was a long way from here in time, even if not in 
 Distance.

 I watched the sun go down on a world of friends, 
 Yesterday,

 13 was a time of many changes as well as discoveries for 
 All.

 What happened to 13? when my friends were you and now 
 Changed,

 As ours went away another did dream and turn themselves 
 13.

 13 was only but a stepping stone experienced and then  
 Left Behind,

 It was our only chance to grab 13, run and dream before 
 It Went away.
                  Keith Garrett

                "THE MEANING OF LIFE
                        AND
              THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ME"
 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 and 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 another's 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, to dream all that can be.
           

                Keith Garrett

       SHE LIVED IN THE WOODS


 Hidden from sunlight, beneath the tall ageing trees,

 Deep in the woods, alone lived she.

 A different kind of world, quiet except for the 
 Creatures that be,
 A woman so aged, seems that she'd been here for eternity.

 So far below that which grows, the falling rain can 
 Barely touch,
 In a rickety old cabin, she had not much.

 Only sounds of the woods kept her company,

 In a dark, lost, existence, she lived to be so old,

 Not of loneliness.

 Many things did she to occupy her moments of a life 
 meant to be,
 Never a face shown to her, only memories of childhood 
 Dreams.
 She lived in the woods, somewhere you see,

 An old, old, woman gone and not missed but who was she?


                  Keith Garrett 

               LOVE TRAVELS A DISTANCE


 A boy and his dog, love between two,

 Each day he waits at the stroke of four.

 Soon they will be separated by circumstance,

 Strength and courage will be tested, a faithful 
 Friend.
 A boy cries in the night, a tear from a dogs eye,

 Love travels a distance to see the smile on a face 
 That cries.
 Hundreds of miles traveled, across land and time,

 Across a river swam, to the other side, love in a 
 Dogs eyes.
 He'll meet many on the way, conquer with every stride,

 Back home a boy waits, a prayer and wish in the night.

 Struggle and pain, hunger or cold will not stop mans 
 Best friend,
 Something so strong lives within this four legged 
 Friend.
 At the stroke of four he lies in wait,

 Love travels a distance, together again.


                  Keith Garrett

                                                                                        
               WHAT MY EYES SEE


 My eyes see differently than once a child did see,



 Reality of all that's around, a world of recognized 
 Sounds.


 What my eyes see are not the coloring books and cartoons,



 Not the exploring of our neighborhood and childish ways.



 Not the magical world from a young boy's eyes lost 
 With time,


 What my eyes see are a different kind of beauty and 
 Some insanity.


 This world has changed along with the changes in me,



 What my eyes see are so many things that I never dreamed.


                 Keith Garrett

           THERE ONCE LIVED A MAN


 Many lifetimes ago there lived a youthful man,


 He worked hard, he did all that a man can.


 On his farm, awoke when the rooster said,


 Watched the sunrise, breakfast began his day.


 A simple man who worked hard on his land,


 Crops in the field, a little money in his hand.


 had a wife with a pretty smile, 


 She was there when the day was done,


 As he walked in from the setting sun.


 Supper on the table, tired was this man and wife,


 A warm fire and some conversation till sleep set 
 In their eyes.

 Children were grown, an adventure of their own,


 A mother, a father, in a home now alone.


 There once was a man who loved all that he had.


             Keith Garrett 

                                                                                     
            RUST FROM TIME

 Sometimes to recall childhood days are lost with 
 What life takes away,

 A bicycle of color sits for years until its age is 
 Seen through cobwebs so clear.


 A shed or a box of stored away and at times forgotten
 Treasures are again a thought,


 Going back to a place where once we stood on sidewalks
 Of ghosts, friends we knew.


 Trees grow taller, houses rest where inside we once knew 
 Those with faces and names,


 Hills where we wandered have disappeared with this 
 Changing world.

 Nothing seems to stay the same, faces fade, children we 
 Knew all go away,

 There are those times when I can just stand there and 
 Somewhere in the wind.

 When the night is quiet, there's a fragrance in the air, 
 That feeling of that yesterday.


 Like a cloud or veil as the seasons change and we all go 
 Our separate ways,

 Thoughts change, some memories drift with passing winds.


 Rust from time, if so blessed then may we all play the 
 Memories in our minds

                                                                                   For just a little while longer.
                                 Keith Garrett

          LISTEN TO THE DRUM BEAT


 Thump, thump, hear the sound that makes the world 
 Go around,

 Feel the pounding of its rhythm, the drum beats hard, 
 The heart beats fast.

 Listen to the drum beat that lives inside, listen  
 to music, the drumbeat cries,

 Boom, boom, echoes through the sky, thunder is the  
 Drum, It beats out loud.

 Wait for the rumbling as the shaking earth trembles 
 With an awesome fear,

 Bang, bang, listen as the sleeping child's heart  
 Comes to life in the dark night.


 Bombs and gunfire sing through the war beaten land, 
 Thump, thump,

 The drum beats slow, the drum beats fast, a mothers 
 Terror as her son dies.

 The dancing boxer, hard hit as he is dropped to the  
 Floor, beat of his heart,

 Thump, thump, boom, boom, goes his heart like 
 The drumbeat so slow.

 Listen to the drumbeat, to the sound of wandering feet, 
 Like a drum,

 A first breath of life, a slower and slower beat of the 
 Fading, going away.
                                   Keith Garrett 

          GOLDEN HAIRED LITTLE GIRL


 She was born In nineteen twenty eight, a star 
 She would soon be,

 This golden haired little girl with a pout that 
 Could melt anyone's heart.

 She would sing and dance, shaking her golden curls  
 All about,

 A beautiful little child, a star growing up back 
 In the thirties.

 There has never been a child star like her and 
 Never will be again,

 Her smile would light up any room, she lived In a  
 Time of depression.

 World war two was closing In but her movies could
 Take away the struggles

 Of everyone's pain from those days, you could go away, 
 If only for a moment.

 What a life for a girl named Shirley, so young when 
 The whole world knew her,

 In a time of great entertainers, a changing world, 
 Shirley Temple was around.

 She grew up to be a woman but the little girl would 
 Go on to live forever,

 Her movies will never go away so she will live In our 
 Hearts always.

 Here's to you golden haired little girl, In heaven  
 You'll be again that little girl.


                   Keith  Garrett