SENSITIZE ©

Martin Carthy

He begins:
a rustic sweet voice thick
with generations - that's where
the haunting catch comes from,
and his fingers flashdance
the strings of a whistling dulcimer.

Without asking,
a glottal stop to the hour
as he moves into Lord Randall -
that slight stillness
as he discards one instrument
and takes up his guitar.

His audience
rises to his expectations -
a patience unbreathing,
a stifled cough
all part of our performance.

One doesn't need to know the music of Carthy to be caught up in this poem. I've been to gigs like this; where the connection between performer and audience is so perfect (as exemplified in the final stanza).

The poem makes me want to be there.

Martin Carthy - I wonder how many guitarists/folk singers the man has influenced down the years. Certainly there have been years when I tried to emulate his work. Sadly, my singing voice is a cross between Bob Dylan and Florence Foster Jenkins, marrying the wors attributes of both. ( http://www.bassocantante.com/opera/curiosity.html ) As a guitarist, I might make Florence sound good.

Great performers, like Martin Carthy, John Tams, have the ability to perform to an audience of one every time they go on stage, I think.

Thanks for your comments.

Mike

My parents used to have a record of Florence Foster Jenkins 'singing'. I spent many happy rainy afternoons in my childhood laughing myself silly listening to her. Thanks for the link Mike -- it brought back happy memories...

my lady spent an afternoon cursing me, though - she claims she couldn't get Florence out of her head...

Mike