The Red Moustache Manuscripts

The Red Moustache Manuscripts contains vignettes chronicling over a half century of adventures. Some of the stories are amusingly funny while others can be seriously enlightening. So come in and enjoy a truly unique experience!

Memories

Memories
of hippies, barefoot
playing Frisbee in the park
drinking beer from light green bottles
listening to small transistor radios
tuned to FM channels
spewing familiar music in the air
on sunlit afternoons
when fresh air was in abundance
and no one was in a hurry

Memories
little keepsakes, collecting dust
in an old unfinished room
up in the attic
with a view of the driveway
and neighborhood kids
playing roundball
arguing about the fouls
making up rules so absurd

Memories
of T.V.'s, black and white
small antennas turned to achieve perfection
with knobs that were missing
perched on unsteady metal stands
that rolled for your convenience
around a house
small in its dimensions
cluttered with family photos
and odd-looking clocks
that caused suspicion

Memories
of cars, bigger than the driveway
with trunks made for travel
and fenders so substantial
flanked by doors that were heavy
even for your father
in colors made for springtime
with matching hubcaps
right for stealing
in a lot unattended
and an engine that would rumble
even while it idled

Memories
of a time that caused commotion
in a world that was divided
that produced several heroes
who didn't live a lifetime
and were cheated of tomorrow
who now serve as reminders
of political arousal
that included every color
and united all who listened
and believed in the promise
of a modern day solution
to all our worldly problems

What happened was convenient
for every politician
a country that grew lazy
and forgot about tradition
while counting all its assets
instead of assessing all its values
blinded by the glitter
and the constant evolution
in a world destined for corruption
and political invasion
lacking in conviction
and any sense of order
leaving children unattended
and a future so uncertain

Memories... 

Tears

Tears

a warm stream

of emotional extract

that trickles

from the soul

confirming our humanity

Tears

a spontaneous expression

an uncontrollable flow

an outlet for intense emotions

painful

pleasurable

intolerable

Tears

alone or shared

a relief to have cried

and cleansed ourselves

to once again

be able to confront

with clear vision

dilemmas of the heart

Tears

a wringing

if not a pouring out

a therapeutic shower

precipitation of the soul

To possess the ability to cry...

A true gift of creation.

However Do You Know?

However do you know?

What makes my heart beat

From my head down to my soul

And, what makes part of me

Want to shed these bounds

And abandon all control

 

However do you know?

However do you know?

When to go real fast

And when to take it slow

Oh so slow

However do you know?

 

The gentle pitter-patter

Of the way you flatter me

With feather-like inuendo

Has me swaying to the beat

Doesn't matter which way you go

You've got me craving something sweet

 

However do you know?

However do you know?

When to go real fast

And when to take it slow

Oh so slow

However do you know?

 

All the things that you do to me

Like a dejavu and a telephone ring

Makes me wonder

Can you see through me?

Or is this the way

Love's supposed to be?

 

However do you know?

What makes my heart beat

From my head down to my soul

And, what makes part of me

Want to shed these bounds

And abandon all control

 

However do you know?

However do you know?

When to go real fast

And when to take it slow

Oh so slow

However do you know?

 

(c) 1994 

 

 

YOU

All I have is You,

nothing else.

All I need is You,

nothing else.

You ease all my pains,

send warmth through my veins,

All I need is You,

nothing else.

 

Love had no meaning,

before You.

Love was for dreaming,

before You.

Now my dream is for real,

because it’s love we can feel,

Love has a meaning,

with You.

 

If I only had one wish come true,

it would be to spend my whole life loving You.

You ease all my pains,

send warmth through my veins,

 

All I have is You,

nothing else.

All I need is You,

nothing else.

Because Love has a meaning,

With You…

 

(written in 1976 for my beautiful wife-to-be Susan)

Satan's Pleasure

The pressure’s building on your brain

Taking you to madness and from the sane

Running and trying to get away

Only wishing you could stay

 

Weakening, your soul you’ll lend

The maze you follow leads no end

You didn’t even say goodbye

Perishing and vanishing not to die

 

People everywhere

Minds all full of fear

Some believe Jesus will save

While others try and behave

 

They know of Heaven and Hell

Still on this earth they dwell

It’s like a big time machine

Pretty smiles will soon turn mean

 

Swimming in Satan’s pool

Isn’t the water cool?

The bottom is a muddy floor

But he uses a shiny lure

 

Your mind has been possessed

And now you cry out distressed

You say you did not realize

But now I see him in your eyes

 

Now you can’t be saved

Not even by your grave

You will soon try to hide

But you’ll find there’s no suicide

 

Satan owns your soul

And now your veins are turning cold

You knew what was above

But now you cannot feel love

 

Prepare yourself for your destiny

Struggling till infinity

You said once you were afraid of dying

Eternal life is on you, and now you’re crying…

 

© 1981  

 

A True Companion

In your prime
I'd call out your name
and in an instant you'd be there

I'd hold you close
and caress your body
and repair the damage of my day

I couldn't eat
without sharing
the table food I knew you loved

You protected
all I valued
with your bark you made that clear

Since you've been gone
I can hear the silence
footsteps across the hardwood floor

In the end I have realized
I needed you
more than you needed me...

Time and time
I call out your name
and in my heart you will appear

Young and strong
in all your glory
the way I want to remember you

The spots where you laid
are forever precious
warm the inside of our home

In our yard
I retrace your pathways
try to feel your fury in the ground

In the wind
I hear you barking
from a very distant place

Someday we'll be reunited
and return to the way
it used to be

I'll hold you close
and caress your body
and repair the damage of the day

Until that time
I'll call out your name
and in my heart you will appear

Young and strong
in all your glory
the way I want to remember you

I loved you
more than even I imagined
and in the end that is crystal clear

Strong you were
in your final hour
I recall the words I said to you...

"You were MY BEST FRIEND; A TRUE COMPANION
I love you so much
and I will miss you everyday"

In your prime
I'd call out your name
and in an instant you'd be there-


Dedicated to my two best friends, Ruggles & Ziggy

Forever At Sea...

I have searched the world all over
forever in blue
trying to find a four-leaf clover
to help get me through
but all I ever find is clovers of three...
Must my destiny be
to always come up short handed
or could I be a ship at sea
that's forever been stranded
skipped around like a smooth rock
thrown across the sea...
I ask you Lord,"What will become of me?"
My sins have been few
so I can't understand
been in the sea of doubt for so long
and haven't seen land
my eyes remain closed
body full of fatigue
following the wind Lord
"What will become of me?"
I put down my anchor
in the sea of unknown
water was rough
couldn't call it home
so I docked in a dream
where life was for free
Waiting for something to wash-up
with an oncoming wave
something worth keeping
something to save
I know of a door
I just can't find the key... 
I ask you Lord, "What will become of me?"
Oh what'll I do?
Forever At Sea...

Ta-Tum

The rustling of branches
a lone eagle spreads its wings
across a brilliant sun...
and all who are free
to sleep without fear
beneath star-lit skies
feel the Power
the Peace
the silent Presence
of Indian spirits
alive on the prairie
who, entranced in ghost-like dance ritual
send calls to the wild
of uprisings and ancient visions
a cry, piercing the night
that beats like a tom-tom
in the souls
of all who have been denied...

Sour Grapes?

There once lived some grapes who hadn't much ambition
except to survive by the heat of a fire

then came the day when one grape was sick of the fire
made a decision, and left on a journey

all the other grapes remained by the fire
expecting he'd return once again for its heat

months had gone by and still they sat by the fire
thinking the journey had led to no source...

ah, but then in walked a raisin with a voice so familiar
that they knew that his journey had been successful at last

he sat by the fire and spoke of the sunlight
though no ones attention seemed eager enough

he wondered if they wouldn't rather hear stories of terror
and how he returned to sit by the fire?

he passed out his gifts he got in the sunlight
and for a while they seemed to enjoy their companion...

but when the raisin stood up to leave for the sunlight
not one grape moved from the fire to wish him farewell

and so he left for the last time, to find a home in the sunlight
to live amongst raisins rather than the grapes he thought he knew best.

 

The Way Out

THE WAY OUT
is through the door
if I know nothing else
of that I'm sure...
but,

if I was a snake
I could hit the ground and slither
if I was a lie
I could start to wither

if I was a babe
I'd just show my face
if I was the truth
I could plead my case

if I was rich
I could grease a palm
if I was the mob
I could cause some harm

if I was a bird
I could take to the sky
if I was a philosopher
I could wonder why?

If I was a lawyer
I could sue
if I was a truck
I could drive right through

if I was a foe
I could vow revenge
if I was a camera
I could just change my lens

if I was a gun
I could pull the trigger
if I was a bomb
I could make the doorway bigger

if I was a mask
I could hide my fear
if I lacked ambition
I just might not care

if I was a debutante
I could demand to pass
if I owned a bank
I could give you cash

if I was a cop
I could blow the whistle
if I was the militia
I could launch a missile

if I was the commander in chief
I could push the button
if I was a bum in the street
I could just do nuttin'
but,

I'm just a guy
and nothing more
and the only way out
is THROUGH THE DOOR!

Say Hey


Hey, Mr. Baseball
can you teach my kid to hit?
and Mr. Baseball
can you teach my kid to spit?
and while you're at it
show him how to wear his cap
and with his bat, how to clean his cleats off with a tap

Hey, Mr. Baseball
when all is said and done
can you teach my kid, how to chew his gum?
and Mr. Baseball, maybe not today
but before the season's over
can you teach him how to turn a double play?

But most of all
please remind him time and time again
that even a .300 hitter
fails on seven out of ten--

Hey, Thanks Mr. Baseball.

Self-Discovery

"Don't confuse sensitivity and honesty with weakness, but rather admire those qualities for the strength and courage they require."


I was young when I went off
to find myself, without you
to find myself

What I found was a boy
without love, all alone
all by himself

It was too late to turn back
I believe, and if I could've
you know I would've

Just what I learned was to love
people back, the ones who care
the ones who share

When I drive by our old home
I could cry, times we've had
the things we've shared

And in the end nothing's found
that wasn't already there
down deep inside
there was Love...

I found Myself.

Homeless

New York City 1978

There were tall buildings and people-packed streets and avenues all around. By 7:00 am, droves of people had already spilled out of the Port Authority bus terminal and were rushing to their offices. Women in full dress and make-up, wearing track shoes for a quicker commute by foot, huffed by me... But what I was most struck by were the homeless people, dressed in multiple layers of discarded clothing, living in cardboard houses on the sidewalks. Some with eyes sewn shut; others  unbathed, hungry and suffering from dementia, or at least massive confusion. I always spared them some change even though my native NY co-workers called me a sap...

Two years later, after moving back to Massachusetts, I woke in the middle of the night and scratched this out like it had been programmed into me by a higher power.

HOMELESS

No one knows your glory
No one knows your shame
No one's heard your story
And no one knows your name

No one's gonna ask you
No one will reply
No one's gonna hear your truth
And no one hears your lie

No one knows your troubles
No one feels your pains
No one feels your heartbeat
As the blood pumps through your veins-

Until the world feels compassion
For a life that's gone astray
Until giving is in fashion
There is no other way...

No one warms your blankets
No one draws your sheets
No one offers comfort
As you wander through the streets

It's not the life you've chosen
Or what you had in mind
To live amongst the homeless
And beg beside the blind

No one knows your glory
No one knows your shame
No one's heard your story
And no one knows your name-

Until the world feels compassion
For a life that's gone astray
Until giving is in fashion
There is no other way...








Landlord

At 5:30 a.m.
I OWN THE ROAD
aside from a few curious rabbits
it's just me and the wind
I'm streaking by houses
still in slumber
and cars
whose stone cold engine blocks sit idle
beneath dew covered hoods
the air is morning
and I'm happy to be alive--

By 5:45 a.m.
I OWN THE WORLD
it's just me and the rising sun
aside from an occasional car door slamming shut
and the heavy thud of a tightly wrapped bundle of first editions
it's just me and the wind
and with five miles behind me
my pulse has quickened...

By 6:00 a.m.
I OWN THE PLANET
I'm scaring rabbits back into their holes
and the sound of my rear derailleur finding another gear
seems large in this Idaho
and I'm streaking across silent pavement unnoticed

By 6:15 a.m.
I'm not alone
THE PLANET, THE WORLD, and THE ROAD
are no longer all mine
signs of life and civilization are everywhere
and I'm spinning for home

By 6:30 a.m.
with almost twenty miles behind me--
I'm ready to share...

Caution to the wind...

If all I had were words that stand
as tall and strong as any man

I'd arrange them in such a way
in the wind you'd hear them say

"He who passes with unjust cause
needn't stop, or even pause-

For if you should upset my peace...
the last word for you will be DECEASED!"

Brief

For a brief time in my youth
he was a friend of mine.

He was several years younger than me,
physically smaller, but incredibly strong
and cool
like James Dean cool-

At his work
he didn't tire
and he listened well
and learned quickly
and always smiled, despite it all
like a kid brother.

It's been years now
since tragedy robbed him of his potential
and when i saw him
at a neighborhood sub shop
being hand fed in his wheelchair
wearing the blank stare of a stranger
with my heart in my throat
i remembered...

For a brief time in my youth
He was a friend of mine.

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