Spells for Dread by Cynthia Hogue
(for Pam and Bill)
1
Since when
was the breach
and what broke, a door
or wall, nothing we hadn’t
defended, everything we regarded—
the vague mattress, a filthy shirt
flung over the chair, the little cook stove
we heated water on, food
if there was any—
as having mattered to no one
but us? This rupture
filled the space, our lives
with blood, but I say
it was blossoms, blossoms.
2
Later would be the clatter of bottles.
Windows overlooking a valley.
Now people come to scavenge.
The noise distracts you from decoding
the meaning of your recurring dream:
someone breaking in, looking to harm you.
Sometimes you know them,
and regardless the question of
whether you cower or fight.
Over the year you have this dream
you realize courage isn’t
not being afraid,
but the fact that you were
and you stayed.
3
The shimmering trail crossing a clear sky
growing brighter and brighter at dusk
didn’t dissipate. The haloed round tip.
The luminous streak. We thought it a rocket
or bomb, not landing but leaving
in its wake nerve gas
or some other poison to drift
over the hills around us as a glittering dust.
We’d sit in a circle together,
marveling at the luck
of communion, the flickering
candlelight. The care that was cure.
Happy Sunday.
With a focus on melody and a distaste for flash and complexity for complexity’s sake, Hayden Pedigo has become a leading voice in the acoustic fingerstyle soundscape. “I believe fingerstyle guitar pieces should be simple enough where any skill level can approach the song and play it in a convincing way,” Pedigo says. “That’s what makes it folk music: the song is sharable and can be passed around. I think that gets lost in a lot of modern-day fingerpicking music.”
For this AG Session, Pedigo performed three original pieces on his Yamaha FG9: “The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored,” “Rained Like Hell,” and “Elsewhere.” And while the music is simple, it’s also transfixing; there is a lot to learn from listening to (and playing) it.
The guitarist also spent some time discussing his exploratory approach to composition, the feeling he gets from hearing other guitarist’s interpreting his music, and the lasting influence of John Fahey. With self-effacing Texas charm, Pedigo says he doesn’t know how to play in standard tuning . . . and we almost believe him!
Pedigo kicks off an East Coast tour next week; tickets are available here. And be sure to check out his recent live album, Live in Amarillo, Texas.
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