Ian Caws
Mr Spickernell's Guitar Lessons
or how Django Reinhardt, his left hand mutilated, brought the music to an end
Returning late from the Dockyard,
Mr Spickernell left his bike
Bumping and barking down the side
wall. Steam from his tea cup
Harmonised, a kind of music,
And the snug fire clicked its needles
softly as we tuned up.
Notes hung on their stems in huddles—
“Pick them in bunches,” he whispered
As I peeled them with my plectrum
One by one and, past the score, peered
at the smoky knitting
Collapsing up the chimney. Warm
Enough in the music, later
he’d roll up his sleeves, swing
Improvised runs through a twelve bar
Riff. Or he’d play a prized record,
Ignoring how it hissed at him,
And follow on where it faded,
His mad fingers running
After the vanished tune. Then came
The evening he played Django’s
Parfum. The needle’s long
Complaint grew soft and all was gauze
Through which the music spread, leaving
No residue. Silent, Mr
Spickernell touched every string
on his guitar, gave them
Tactile instructions not to stir.
The record stopped. “My God! “ he said,
“two fingers and a thumb!”—
Stared into the fire and shivered.
Page(s) 8-9
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