Poetry of K.O. Harrop
Reflections on life, history, injustice, resistance, civil rights, and Guyana
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The mystery in the poem ‘Unrest’s Sure Abode’, grand prize winner of the 1995 North American Open Poetry Contest, is best described in the Editor Notes as follows:
“Kingsley Harrop-Williams’ Grand Prize-Winning piece, “Unrest’s Sure Abode,” is a shining example of accomplished elegance that meticulously carves out a disturbing image of the United States as experienced by all minorities. Harrop-Williams’ words are deliberately chosen from beginning to end, and each line seems to another piece in the puzzle which reveals the poem’s grave message. For instance, the first letter of each word in the title spells out “U.S.A,” and in line 6 the “huddled light” is a veiled reference to the “huddled masses” whom the Statue of Liberty welcomes. At first glance, on the literal level, the poem is about three young men on their own, living in a house of three floors which they have constructed:
When George and Ben and Thomas broke free from their father’s side
They built a house of 3 floors for freedom to reside.
Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson, here mentioned by only their first names, were the founding fathers of the United States. After breaking free from England’s rule, they built a country ruled by the three branches of democracy, and promising life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all its citizens. The extended metaphor of the house representing the U.S. and its government is consistent throughout, from the cellar where darkness resides, to the parlor with the transparent ceiling, to the upper room where decisions are made.
In an effective display of irony, the second two lines of the poem illustrate the mistreatment of the Native Americans and the slaves – two groups of people to whim the newfound freedom did not apply:
They packed the base with the native blocks, burying all prior claims;
Then dug a cellar for darkness and refastened all its chains.
Harrop-Williams employs light and dark imagery to paint a clearer picture of the segregation of races in the United States. The darkness in the cellar most likely refers to the black men, women, and children who were brought to America as slaves. In the second stanza, the “Xanthous rays at the western wall” represent the Asian immigrants. Finally, the “silhouettes from the arid south” symbolize the Mexican immigrants crossing the border into the U.S. Once the scene is set, Harrop-Williams addresses the racial issue of today.”
In ‘Evolution of a Republic’ the author sings praises on how America has changed:
This capitalist bastion, this Democracy,
This conqueror of the surreal, leader of creativity,
This fulfiller of the Dreamer’s vagary;
This eraser of misdeeds, this Land of Opportunity,
This realm of hope, this age of Barry.
In ‘An Immigrant’s observation’ the author suggests how America should continue to change:
Relentlessly seek your diversity
In gender, roots, faith and skin;
And above all achieve equality
For all that live herein.
Heed not the callous lamentation,
Affirm your need to repair;
You will attain that more perfect union
Only by pursuing affirmative action,
And forever clear the air.
In ‘Elegy Above a City Jailyard’ the author looks at the effect of excessive incarceration on young African American males:
For now, a substitute for the female touch,
Or the odalisque of a meaner hood;
Forever lost are the votes they need so much,
And the jobs to rescue them for good.
And the loss to society
Maybe this ensconced cot contains
The wit to decipher life's intent;
God's origin may be hidden in his brain,
Or an energy formula for all's content.
Also the injustice in his sentence
Now lay the blame on his violent mood,
Though no violence accompanied his crime;
In a fairer form, sold by a fairer brood,
His ware brings one tenth the time.
In “Incident at Khadar Head” the author describes a comical end to a wrestling match thus:
He jumped forthright on Thomas chest
And pummeled him to the ground,
But Big Thomas locked on him
And tied him in knots around.
Then in the dark and smelling bad
With hairs that itched his nose,
Something told the Dac he had
His foe’s tender spot exposed;
Next with a shriek, the Dac was on top,
And turning to us he moaned:
You won’t believe how strong you get,
When you bite your own.
In “Khadar House” the author relates his experience with the supernatural. First the stories he heard:
As we entered the darkened room,
We thought of others doomed
That have heard the spirit’s call.
Of a father following a dream he had
Left rum and cigarettes in a bag
And the son who stole them all.
How five next died from broken necks,
And one who though the window sailed
As it flung them against the wall.
How after weeding the old man’s grave
Strange money would appear;
And how the man who took bricks
From the tomb died within the year.
Then the attack on his friend:
We shook and pinched him for a time
But he did not ever wince;
For the spirit made him dumb and stupid,
And he had not been righted since.
In the ‘Last Import’ the author parodies the death of a leader that banned imports but wanted his body to be preserved after death:
The preserver was also banned
So all turned to the ruler's bride.
All week long as we kept watch
She traveled to the Zurich stash
To buy and bring a redeeming batch
To restore our fallen pride.
All week long the lights went out
From lack of foreign oil.
All week long the leader swelled,
We stood on guard with noses held,
While across the street the foes reveled;
Our plans they hoped to foil.
Too late, the flesh had busted off
And all in awful dread,
With gagging groan and muffled moan
We covered each exposed bone
When word came on the telephone,
"She imported a rubber head!"
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About the Book
The Poetry of K.O. Harrop shows the beauty and significance of poetry in telling life stories. The poems teach new lessons and create new emotions and cause you to re-examine your comfort or discomfort with the subject. For example: • In the chapter Lessons from History, revisit the past and rethink how its lessons should be used to shape the future. Awake to the cry for awareness of young lives disproportionately lost in the penal system in the poem ‘Elegy above a City Jailyard.’ • Re-examine the events leading to the election and re-election of President Obama and the consequences in On the New Republic. • Examine the failure of relying on human discretion and why action must be affirmative in Affirmative Action. • In the chapters Telling the Truth and From Behind the Wall sneak into the minds of those detained without trial and those living under occupation. • Learn the chances you live with because of your birth, your excesses, your environment and your government in On Life’s Realities Author Kingsley Harrop-Williams visits Guyana, the country of his birth; its history, its current state, its treasures, its losses and its future in The Magnificent Province. Here, the poem ‘The Last Import’ parodies the end of one of its rulers. Challenge yourself to unravel the mysteries of some of the poems. An example of the challenge is found in the following quotation: “Kingsley Harrop-Williams’ Grand Prize winning piece, “Unrest’s Sure Abode” is a shining example of accomplished elegance that meticulously carves out a disturbing image of the United States as experienced by all minorities. Harrop-Williams’ words are deliberately chosen from beginning to end, and each line seems to be another piece in the puzzle which reveals the poem’s grave message.” – Joy L. Esterby, Editor ‘A Delicate Balance’ Watermark Press, Owings Mills, MD.
About the Author
Dr. Harrop-Williams was the Grand Prize Winner of the National Library of Poetry 1995 North American Open Poetry Contest. He is a civil engineer who believes that life’s lessons endure best if constructed with the tools of poetry. He was born in Berbice, Guyana and now lives in the USA.