Scarecrow - Darko Antwi
We
went to see
For
ourselves
There
was no ghost
Only
slamming doors
And
flapping curtains
There
was no fear
It
had vanished
Like
the ghost
There
was no ghost
No
fear -
Only
some angry harmattan wind
Knocking
things about
Like
a wounded lion
At
first glance, the poem conveys a note of clarity. People go into a
room to check whether a ghost is inside. There is no ghost, hence
'there is no fear.' However, it might be 'some angry harmattan wind' that is causing the mischief. But (as late-night infomercials in the USA say)
wait, there is more. After analyzing two of Darko Antwi's pieces, The
last words of Aunt Araba and The Burial of Saint
Domeabra, I have come to respect him as a master of hiding
things in plain sight. Scarecrow pulls us into the
immediacy of the moment, making us knowledgeable (or so we think)
about what is happening. This is a ruse, for in knowing everything at
once, we miss details that only time and patience can unravel. To
understand the poet, we have to dissect context and content.
The
first couplet betrays a certain level of skepticism. Like the
Biblical Thomas, who was still full of doubt after hearing about the
Risen Christ so many times, the poet (and his companions) wants to go
inside 'to see/For ourselves'. Hence, the first emotion that Darko
craftily places at the beginning of the poem is doubt. He is not
aware of what others fear but is willing to check it out. In the next
three lines, he is now dismissive of whatever is stirring fear in
others. He only sees 'slamming doors/And flapping curtains'. The poet
conveniently shuts his mind from knowing what is slamming the doors
and flapping the curtains. It is fear that makes him do so but he has
preempted our accusations by feigning skepticism.
The
isolated line gives us an insight into his bravado: ' There was no
fear'. Why is the poet talking about fear after being skeptical and
dismissive about the presence of a ghost? Is he trying to reaffirm,
to himself, a fading courage? A courage that is a ghost in itself?
The next two lines confirm what has really been hiding behind the
first lines: the poet was afraid. At that moment, his reassurance was
that his fears had 'vanished/Like the ghost. But isn't he the same
person who said, in the fifth and sixth lines, that there was no
ghost, only 'slamming doors/And flapping curtains'? The
contradiction, ironically, confirms fear.
In
the next two lines, the poet confirms what we have discovered. He
uses the logic that if there 'was no ghost', then there is 'No fear
-'. Here we see the use of an intangible thing (a ghost) to validate
a tangible emotion (fear) and vice versa. Darko, by doing this, plays
into African beliefs about life being a confluence of the benevolence/malevolence of spirits and the will/desires/attitudes of men. Yet,
he tries to cover his tracks by validating his new found courage with
the substitution of an intangible phenomenon (ghost movement) with a
tangible event (the Harmattan). By doing this, the poet effectively
triangulates his reasoning. Basically, he says that 'I have no fear
because there is no ghost. Besides, the Harmattan is responsible for
what we deem as ghost movements.' With this reasoning, the poet is
then able to satisfy his inherent beliefs about ghosts and the
demands of logic from observers (the outside world).
The
poem is a dance of fear and bravado, of reality and illusion. It
moves on themes of appearances and perception. In a world where
appearances are valued more than aptitude and where perception is
reality, this poem is a hall of mirrors. Everyone has some secret,
some fear they are reluctant to admit. This is the world
that Scarecrow portrays. A world of intentional
contradiction and premeditated misinformation. Like a scarecrow that
scares off birds (and, even, people), the poet knows what he really feels inside: that he is equally afraid of the things that are scared of
him.
At first glance, the poem conveys a note of clarity. People go into a room to check whether a ghost is inside. There is no ghost, hence 'there is no fear.' However, it might be 'some angry harmattan wind' that is causing the mischief. But (as late-night infomercials in the USA say) wait, there is more. After analyzing two of Darko Antwi's pieces, The last words of Aunt Araba and The Burial of Saint Domeabra, I have come to respect him as a master of hiding things in plain sight. Scarecrow pulls us into the immediacy of the moment, making us knowledgeable (or so we think) about what is happening. This is a ruse, for in knowing everything at once, we miss details that only time and patience can unravel. To understand the poet, we have to dissect context and content.
The first couplet betrays a certain level of skepticism. Like the Biblical Thomas, who was still full of doubt after hearing about the Risen Christ so many times, the poet (and his companions) wants to go inside 'to see/For ourselves'. Hence, the first emotion that Darko craftily places at the beginning of the poem is doubt. He is not aware of what others fear but is willing to check it out. In the next three lines, he is now dismissive of whatever is stirring fear in others. He only sees 'slamming doors/And flapping curtains'. The poet conveniently shuts his mind from knowing what is slamming the doors and flapping the curtains. It is fear that makes him do so but he has preempted our accusations by feigning skepticism.
