About the Author
Peter Skrzynecki is of Polish/Ukrainian background and was born in Germany, 1945, shortly before the end of World War II. He emigrated to Australia in 1949 at the age of four with his parents.
After a four-week sea journey, the family arrived in Sydney. They lived in a migrant camp in Bathurst for two weeks before being moved to the Parkes Migrant Centre. It is this camp that the poet regards as his first home in Australia.
In 1951, the family moved to Regents Park, where a home had been purchased at 10 Mary Street. His parents worked hard and had the house paid off in four years. Peter attended the local Catholic School, Saint Peter Chanel's and then, in 1956, began school at St Patrick's College.
He eventually became a primary school teacher and taught in public schools in Sydney's west. It was during his time at Sydney University however, that Skrzynecki began writing his poems. His last publication, Immigrant Chronicles, was released in 1975. Though many of the poems carried traces of the same themes from his previous two books, a new theme emerged in this collection. For the first time, the poet wrote about his European background, his experiences as a migrant in Australia, the problems associated with being in exile, with his parent's dispossession and the difficulties encountered by them and other immigrants in trying to assimilate to a new life in a new land, such as racism, bigotry and resettlement.
He has since then published 15 books on poetry and prose.
After a four-week sea journey, the family arrived in Sydney. They lived in a migrant camp in Bathurst for two weeks before being moved to the Parkes Migrant Centre. It is this camp that the poet regards as his first home in Australia.
In 1951, the family moved to Regents Park, where a home had been purchased at 10 Mary Street. His parents worked hard and had the house paid off in four years. Peter attended the local Catholic School, Saint Peter Chanel's and then, in 1956, began school at St Patrick's College.
He eventually became a primary school teacher and taught in public schools in Sydney's west. It was during his time at Sydney University however, that Skrzynecki began writing his poems. His last publication, Immigrant Chronicles, was released in 1975. Though many of the poems carried traces of the same themes from his previous two books, a new theme emerged in this collection. For the first time, the poet wrote about his European background, his experiences as a migrant in Australia, the problems associated with being in exile, with his parent's dispossession and the difficulties encountered by them and other immigrants in trying to assimilate to a new life in a new land, such as racism, bigotry and resettlement.
He has since then published 15 books on poetry and prose.
Information and image retreived from http://www.peterskrzynecki.com/biography.htm; http://www.portrait.gov.au/people/peter-skrzynecki-1945
Feliks Skrzynecki
Notes on Felics Skrzynecki
Skrzynecki shows in his poem that the gap widens between father and son as the boy matures. Similarly, the gap between the father's Polish heritage and the new society of which the son is becoming a part, is firmly established.
The poem is written from the poet's perspective of his father, Feliks. This is how he sees him. It also includes his father’s view of his world, how he sees his son's surroundings. Skrzynecki shows the immigrant’s isolation in the changed world in which he now lives, Feliks has his own values.
Skrzynecki is also presenting a child’s perception of the strangeness of adults' behaviour, which is captured in what they say and how they behave. The poem is describing the specific situation of a Polish father and son in their new Australian setting. It is also, more generally, using that situation as a means of describing the ways in which children grow apart from their parents.
The final perspective is the father’s view of his son. It is his perception of the fact that the son is moving away from his words and world. Skrzynecki draws a comparison between this situation and the boy of thirteen learning a new language. As the maturing process begins, he is leaving his father’s world behind. Whether he is learning Latin or Australian English, it is a distant detached tongue for his Polish father. The boy is moving south from Hadrian's Wall* in the north of England. The wall signifies the barrier between father and son. The boy has forgotten his first Polish words and the father becomes like a 'dumb prophet', no longer able to speak to his son.
*a defensive fortification built of stone
Poem Structure
Stanza 1: The poet explores his _______________ to his father, Feliks, and his father’s love of his garden.
Stanza 2: The poet __________________ his father.
Stanza 3: The poet feels _____________________ from his father’s cultural heritage.
Stanza 4: Further evidence of Feliks’s stoicism is explored.
Stanza 5: The poet reflects on his own ___________________ and that of his parents, and shows contempt for bureaucracy.
Stanza 6: The poet‘s father is _____________________ in his garden and the poet uses this to demonstrate that he ________________ that he has never been able to feel the same contentment.
Stanza 7: The poet shows that he feels a sense of loss in relation to his parents’ heritage.
BELONGING
Places and the Concept of Belonging:
Characters and the Concept of Belonging:
Feliks Skrzynecki:
Relationships and the Concept of Belonging:
TECHNIQUES
Irony
Feliks has a different perspective of the world from his son’s. Ironically, it is happier, although his life has been much harder. The situation is that Feliks is happy in this way because of the hardships he has experienced:
“My father sits out the evening
With his dog, smoking,
Watching stars and street lights come on,
Happy as l have never been”
Allusion
The classical allusion to Caesar's Gallic War is ironic as Skrzynecki is getting a grounding in Latin (a dead language) while ignoring the far more enriching and fulfilling lessons that Feliks is fighting to instill in him: "I forgot my first Polish word/ He repeated it so I never forgot". Skyrzynecki's tone reveals the building resentment he felt for Feliks at the time.
Hyperbole
Age and context form Peter's motivation behind moving away from his father. He cannot comprehend Feliks' fortitude and discipline, and wonders "why his arms didnt fall off" with the amount of work he did. Hyperbole here helps define Peter's perspective of his father.
Descriptive Language
Descriptive language establishes the poet’s admiration for his father through the adjective “gentle”. ln stanza 2 ,the description of the poet’s father continues. He uses harsh words such as “darkened...cracks...cement" to show how diligent his father is and how determined he is to build something. The words “violently...flowered...slaughtering” in stanza 3 suggest that Feliks has led a robust life in Poland, and that a sense of belonging was not only tied to the land, but too a strong work ethic as well. The word “dug” in stanza 4 represents the severity of his father’s surgery for cancer and relates to the garden metaphor.
First Person Narraive Voice
First person narrative demonstrates his perceptions of his father, and this perception assists in his own self-discovery. In stanza 5, as the boy grows, he reflects on learning Polish. This suggests that the poet’s identity is deeply rooted in his parent's heritage despite being brought up in a different country with different values and language. In stanza 7, the poet refers back to the language he inherited unknowingly, but reveals a sense of regret for the loss of this language, and therefore his sense of self and place, which are connected to belonging.
Metaphors and Similes
Metaphors and similes are important in the poem. In stanza 1, the metaphor “the Joneses of his own mind’s making” suggests that his father’s identity is strongly linked to individualism, and that he wants to do things simply and in his own way. The simile “Loved his garden like an only child” suggests that his father takes pride in his garden, and finds a sense of himself there because it is where he feels he belongs. The reference to “an only child” could also be a link to the poet, and continues the link between family and belonging. Peter is unable or unwilling to stop the gulf forming between Feliks and him. He is becoming an educated Australian. This is seen in the metaphor of Hadrian’s Wall which illustrates the growing and deliberate distance between the two of them. The poet’s sense of loss of self is represented by the metaphor “After that, like a dumb prophet, / watched me pegging my tents / Further and further south of Hadrian’s Wall.” The son is aware that he will move further and further away from his father’s heritage, and that there is nothing his father can do about it.
Imagery
Imagery reveals the poet’s isolation in stanza 3. The distance from his parent’s heritage is demonstrated through his observation of how his father interacts with his Polish friends. He suggests they “shook hands too violently”, asif their interaction would not be acceptable and conducive to belonging in Australian culture. This behaviour also excludes the poet from his Polish heritage. Visual imagery of the garden with the “golden cypress” border and the “geraniums” illustrates the poet’s admiration for his father, and of the sense of contentment that Feliks has worked hard to achieve. The poet uses this image to show his sense of regret that he will never know his
father’s heritage nor feel the contentment that his father feels.
QUESTIONS
Skrzynecki shows in his poem that the gap widens between father and son as the boy matures. Similarly, the gap between the father's Polish heritage and the new society of which the son is becoming a part, is firmly established.
The poem is written from the poet's perspective of his father, Feliks. This is how he sees him. It also includes his father’s view of his world, how he sees his son's surroundings. Skrzynecki shows the immigrant’s isolation in the changed world in which he now lives, Feliks has his own values.
Skrzynecki is also presenting a child’s perception of the strangeness of adults' behaviour, which is captured in what they say and how they behave. The poem is describing the specific situation of a Polish father and son in their new Australian setting. It is also, more generally, using that situation as a means of describing the ways in which children grow apart from their parents.
The final perspective is the father’s view of his son. It is his perception of the fact that the son is moving away from his words and world. Skrzynecki draws a comparison between this situation and the boy of thirteen learning a new language. As the maturing process begins, he is leaving his father’s world behind. Whether he is learning Latin or Australian English, it is a distant detached tongue for his Polish father. The boy is moving south from Hadrian's Wall* in the north of England. The wall signifies the barrier between father and son. The boy has forgotten his first Polish words and the father becomes like a 'dumb prophet', no longer able to speak to his son.
*a defensive fortification built of stone
Poem Structure
Stanza 1: The poet explores his _______________ to his father, Feliks, and his father’s love of his garden.
Stanza 2: The poet __________________ his father.
Stanza 3: The poet feels _____________________ from his father’s cultural heritage.
Stanza 4: Further evidence of Feliks’s stoicism is explored.
Stanza 5: The poet reflects on his own ___________________ and that of his parents, and shows contempt for bureaucracy.
Stanza 6: The poet‘s father is _____________________ in his garden and the poet uses this to demonstrate that he ________________ that he has never been able to feel the same contentment.
Stanza 7: The poet shows that he feels a sense of loss in relation to his parents’ heritage.
BELONGING
Places and the Concept of Belonging:
- Feliks creates a place to belong in his garden. Feliks treasures his garden; he is empowered by his bond with the soil. Repetitious work and labour provides him with a sense of security and purpose. Feliks does not belong in the surrounding Australian culture and so he creates his own world in the safety of his garden.
- Feliks has created a place to belong by surrounding himself with rewarding physical activity, work. He is portrayed as hardworking; a man of few words whose actions speak volumes and who prides himself on work achieved. Both the sound and meaning of the words "Alert, brisk and silent" reveal a compressed and purposeful energy. The images of a powerful manual worker whose hands are "darkened" and cracked "Like the sods he broke”, reveal the safety and security that can be achieved by physical labour.
- Feliks' bond with his own past is a barrier to belonging. It is readily accepted that the older you get, the more difficult it becomes to adjust or assimilate into a new environment and culture. As such, Feliks never really belongs in Australia. He recreates his life with his garden, his work and his Polish gentlemen, he latches onto the past. Reminiscing about pre-war Poland reminds him of his youth and happier, uncomplicated times before the trauma of the war and the destruction of everything he knew.
- Peter belongs to his new life in Australia, where he has grown up. It is what he knows and his education creates this experience. As Peter grows, school represents the growing chasm between Feliks and himself. It is another area where he and Feliks are divided by experience: "Stumbling over tenses in Caesar's Gallic War*". This quote adds depth of meaning to the battle that is occurring between Peter and his father.
*
- Wartime hardship influences Feliks’ capacity to belong in Australia, he has experienced hardship. Reference to World War II labour camps illustrates the harsh reality of Feliks experiences. Courage and endurance are key features of his personality, which were developed through his traumatic wartime experiences. They are traits admired by Peter who reports that “twice they dug cancer out of his foot”. There is a sense that Peter himself would never be able to face similar trauma with the same attitude.
- Dealing with bureaucracy hinders belonging. Feliks experiences discrimination and he is sneered at because of his lack of English: “Did your father ever attempt to learn English?" However, he is united with Peter through this experience. Skrzynecki demeans the clerk, with his ignorant “dancing bear grunts". Sympathy is generated for the Skrzynecki's who are forced to deal with stupidity and arrogance. The incident reveals an unpleasant aspect of Australia's response to migrants. Peter exists in the nether world of not belonging to either group.
- Peter is intent on belonging to the culture he is growing up in, not in the culture he has forgotten. He stubbornly focuses on his studies, to the detriment of his Polish education.
Characters and the Concept of Belonging:
Feliks Skrzynecki:
- Feliks has strong emotional ties and expresses nostalgia to his Polish heritage, which now belongs to the past. His Polish friends visit and they reminisce about their experience, therefore keeping the past alive.
- Feliks has created a place for himself to belong in his new life. He is empowered by his bond with his garden. While he attempts to enforce aspects of Polish culture on Peter, it is impossible to fabricate the depth of feeling, pride and emotion, or the sense of belonging to a nation, a culture and a heritage, that forms such a large part of Feliks' personality. Feliks fails to apply the same stolic attitude that he has to his garden and work to his son. A feeling of belonging cannot be enforced or easily created.
- Peter belongs to a different context of time and place to his father. He feels disconnected from his Polish heritage. He is excluded from conversations about Poland and the past, as it is a history that he is not a part of. The exclusive pronoun “they” highlights the separation: “Talking they reminisced."
- Peter experiences confusion about where he belongs. The irony of Feliks’ contentment lies in his ability to very quickly adapt and settle into a pleasant and safe routine in Australia, where as Peter, who has never known anything else, feels dissatisfaction that he does not belong.
Relationships and the Concept of Belonging:
- Although Peter admires his father, the separation between them is enduring and they do not share belonging experiences. Peter is never shown with Feliks. Instead Peter observes him, unable to comprehend the happiness and contentment he sees.
- In many ways, father and son remain strangers to each other, with individual attitudes towards belonging. Each is uncomprehending of the other’s experiences, as they have no shared cultural background.
- Feliks belongs to and has a shared history with other Polish immigrants he socialises with. The experiences that bind these men together create yet another area of difference between father and son.
TECHNIQUES
Irony
Feliks has a different perspective of the world from his son’s. Ironically, it is happier, although his life has been much harder. The situation is that Feliks is happy in this way because of the hardships he has experienced:
“My father sits out the evening
With his dog, smoking,
Watching stars and street lights come on,
Happy as l have never been”
Allusion
The classical allusion to Caesar's Gallic War is ironic as Skrzynecki is getting a grounding in Latin (a dead language) while ignoring the far more enriching and fulfilling lessons that Feliks is fighting to instill in him: "I forgot my first Polish word/ He repeated it so I never forgot". Skyrzynecki's tone reveals the building resentment he felt for Feliks at the time.
Hyperbole
Age and context form Peter's motivation behind moving away from his father. He cannot comprehend Feliks' fortitude and discipline, and wonders "why his arms didnt fall off" with the amount of work he did. Hyperbole here helps define Peter's perspective of his father.
Descriptive Language
Descriptive language establishes the poet’s admiration for his father through the adjective “gentle”. ln stanza 2 ,the description of the poet’s father continues. He uses harsh words such as “darkened...cracks...cement" to show how diligent his father is and how determined he is to build something. The words “violently...flowered...slaughtering” in stanza 3 suggest that Feliks has led a robust life in Poland, and that a sense of belonging was not only tied to the land, but too a strong work ethic as well. The word “dug” in stanza 4 represents the severity of his father’s surgery for cancer and relates to the garden metaphor.
First Person Narraive Voice
First person narrative demonstrates his perceptions of his father, and this perception assists in his own self-discovery. In stanza 5, as the boy grows, he reflects on learning Polish. This suggests that the poet’s identity is deeply rooted in his parent's heritage despite being brought up in a different country with different values and language. In stanza 7, the poet refers back to the language he inherited unknowingly, but reveals a sense of regret for the loss of this language, and therefore his sense of self and place, which are connected to belonging.
Metaphors and Similes
Metaphors and similes are important in the poem. In stanza 1, the metaphor “the Joneses of his own mind’s making” suggests that his father’s identity is strongly linked to individualism, and that he wants to do things simply and in his own way. The simile “Loved his garden like an only child” suggests that his father takes pride in his garden, and finds a sense of himself there because it is where he feels he belongs. The reference to “an only child” could also be a link to the poet, and continues the link between family and belonging. Peter is unable or unwilling to stop the gulf forming between Feliks and him. He is becoming an educated Australian. This is seen in the metaphor of Hadrian’s Wall which illustrates the growing and deliberate distance between the two of them. The poet’s sense of loss of self is represented by the metaphor “After that, like a dumb prophet, / watched me pegging my tents / Further and further south of Hadrian’s Wall.” The son is aware that he will move further and further away from his father’s heritage, and that there is nothing his father can do about it.
Imagery
Imagery reveals the poet’s isolation in stanza 3. The distance from his parent’s heritage is demonstrated through his observation of how his father interacts with his Polish friends. He suggests they “shook hands too violently”, asif their interaction would not be acceptable and conducive to belonging in Australian culture. This behaviour also excludes the poet from his Polish heritage. Visual imagery of the garden with the “golden cypress” border and the “geraniums” illustrates the poet’s admiration for his father, and of the sense of contentment that Feliks has worked hard to achieve. The poet uses this image to show his sense of regret that he will never know his
father’s heritage nor feel the contentment that his father feels.
QUESTIONS
- What is the point of Skrzynecki's way of presenting the father in his garden?
- Why are the specific references to speech and language (especially Latin and Polish) so important in this poem?
- What is the point of the imagery from the Roman history in the last stanza?
- Explain why the structure of the piece is important. What does it reveal about the poet?
- Complete the following table of techniques in your books:
St Patricks College
Notes on St Patricks College
Skrzynecki connects personally with his readers in this honest, conversational poem as he shares his experiences as a child at a school where he felt as though he never belonged. The five stanzas recall the eight years that he spent at St Patrick's College.
The overall tone is condemnatory, hinting at institutional alienation rather than instilling any feelings of school spirit or inclusivity. St Pat’s is not presented as a place that effectively promoted learning or positive growth. The Catholicism of the College is referenced by statues, prayers, Christian ethos and Mass, but there is no real spiritual affinity inferred by such ‘decorums' (Christian doctrine of polite behaviour and language use).
This is one of the only poems in the collection that conveys Skrzynecki’s mother’s perspective of what it takes to ensure that your child belongs in a new land and a new social climate. However, her perspective is unreliable as it is conveyed in a mildly critical tone by Skrzynecki.
The possessive pronoun ‘my' is absent when Skrzynecki refers to his mother, and the repetition of the noun ‘Mother’ is detached, formal language. This is in contrast with the strong sense of familial belonging and warm affection he displays in the poems about his father.
The personal recollections of Skrzynecki’s time at St Patrick’s College describe a schoolboy who never felt as though he belonged. The simile “Like a foreign tourist, / Uncertain of my destination” highlights his sense of alienation. The repetition of the line “for
eight years” in two of the middle stanzas implies that his years at the school were an imposed, unpleasant time, with no mention of connections to friends or teachers.
Skrzynecki’s sense of failure at school is symbolised by the darkness that surrounds him.
Poem Structure
Stanza 1: The poet's mother __________________ him into a school she believes he will benefit from.
Stanza 2: A description of the school is given - the poet does not feel a __________________ to the religious school.
Stanza 3: The poet tells of his ____________ year life at St Patricks __________________, where a notion of _________________ is represented.
Stanza 4: The poet continues explaining his __________________ life, emphasising the push of _________________ within the school.
Stanza 5: The poet jumps to his __________ day of school. He summarises his school life by suggesting that he did not ____________ anything from his religious experience at St Patrick's college, as it ___________________ him with morals and decorum's.
TASK
Create a table (using the one below as a guide) that summarises all of the information in the poem:
NOTE: when formulating 'ideas' it may be easier for you to think one-word themes and develop more complex ideas from there.
QUESTIONS
- In what ways is the poet presented as an alienated student?
- What lasting impression is the reader left by the poet's evaluation of his school years?
- How do the opening stanzas position the reader in regard to the impressions given about the school as a formative influence on its students?
- How effective is religious symbolism within the poem in developing the major themes or ideas of alienation and dissatisfaction.
Ancestors
Notes on Ancestors
Ancestors explores the relationship between the people of the past and people of the present, and how this affects our ability to belong in the physical world. The distinction between life and death is blurred in this poem. The poem reflects the poets confusion, caused by feeling a connection to something unknown. He is aware of the significance of our ancestors. but is confused about the messages they communicate to us. He wants to know who they are and what secrets they hold.
In this poem, Skrzynecki explores the idea of belonging to the physical world and to a world that is spiritual; a realm which his long dead ancestors now inhabit. The ancestors once experienced a sense of belonging with the physical world, but now reside in a shadowy, non-physical realm. The poet feels a connection to this world, too, and a sense of belonging to it. He suggests that we cannot separate ourselves from those who have come before us, nor can we distance ourselves from what we leave behind after our own deaths.
Poem Structure
Stanza 1: The poet ________________ on who his ancestors are, and why they linger in a dream. He is speaking to somebody, perhaps the responder.
Stanza 2: He ______________ what secrets the ancestors tell. The poet cannot define their messages.
Stanza 3: The poet wonders what _____________________ and guidance the ancestors offer to people, as they point from a circle they form around their living descendants.
Stanza 4: The poet situates the ancestors in the ________________ landscape.
Stanza 5: He wonders why the ancestors never _______________ and how long it will take for them to make a clear connection between the physical world and the dream or spiritual world.
Stanza 6: The poet wonders why you wake as the ancestors’ face becomes ____________, being unable to speak, with a tongue like ‘caked mud’.
Stanza 7: There is a reference to _____________ in the wind across the still plain.
TECHNIQUES
Metaphor
The ancestors are "shadows" that linger in dreams, represented as "bearded, faceless" spirits. They cannot be seen but are felt, and thier insights are difficult to ascertain. The beards suggest the age of the ancestors and thier wisdom. The poet wonders about their values as they cannot be clearly identified.
The ambiguity of the ancestors' message can be seen in the poet's confusion about the guidance offered from the "circle" they form around the person. The circle is like a consciousness. On the physical plane, understanding the messages of our ancestors of our consciousness cna be just as confusing and deceptive.
As individuals, we often feel a sense of belonging to the physical world, but as also to a spiritual realm and the people or shadows that inhabit it - after all, we are bound by blood to our ancestors. Perhaps that is why the poet looks to the ancestors for the guidance and wonders to what "star" their "footprints" lead.
Imagery
The poet refers to the senses to explore the mysterious nature of the ancestors. The dream world of the ancestors is extrasensory and reflects aspects that the poet can comprehend about the spirit world: the "sound of a river", the taste of "blood" and a tongue "dry/As caked mud", although the images are random and seemingly unconnected.
Juxtaposition
The dreamlike spiritual world of the ancestors is illuminated through the juxtaposed images of waking and sleeping, light and darkness, and stillness and motion. The difficulty the poet experiences trying to comprehend these messages is shown through the ambiguity and contradiction of these images. The poet is unable to define their messages because they do not make sense in the physical worldthe world the ancestors represent is not one we can comprehend while we are living.
The ancestors are situated in a landscape of mountains, rivers and desolate plains. The image of the barren ‘sand' is juxtaposed with the more fertile images of the ‘grasses’. The confusion of the poet is further juxtaposed with the image of it leaving the grasses and the sand unstirring. The poet recognises that there is wisdom in the natural landscape but cannot clearly define what these messages mean for him.
Rhetorical Questions
The poet wonders who these ancestors are, what secrets they hold and what messages they offer. The poet questions why they do not speak and how long it will take for their guidance to be voiced through the people of the present and the future, but the questions are rhetoricalhe does not expect them to be answered. The poet seems to be asking someone, perhaps even the reader (the undefined ‘you’), ‘Who are these shadows', and ‘Why do you wake/ As their faces become clearer”.
Ancestors explores the relationship between the people of the past and people of the present, and how this affects our ability to belong in the physical world. The distinction between life and death is blurred in this poem. The poem reflects the poets confusion, caused by feeling a connection to something unknown. He is aware of the significance of our ancestors. but is confused about the messages they communicate to us. He wants to know who they are and what secrets they hold.
In this poem, Skrzynecki explores the idea of belonging to the physical world and to a world that is spiritual; a realm which his long dead ancestors now inhabit. The ancestors once experienced a sense of belonging with the physical world, but now reside in a shadowy, non-physical realm. The poet feels a connection to this world, too, and a sense of belonging to it. He suggests that we cannot separate ourselves from those who have come before us, nor can we distance ourselves from what we leave behind after our own deaths.
Poem Structure
Stanza 1: The poet ________________ on who his ancestors are, and why they linger in a dream. He is speaking to somebody, perhaps the responder.
Stanza 2: He ______________ what secrets the ancestors tell. The poet cannot define their messages.
Stanza 3: The poet wonders what _____________________ and guidance the ancestors offer to people, as they point from a circle they form around their living descendants.
Stanza 4: The poet situates the ancestors in the ________________ landscape.
Stanza 5: He wonders why the ancestors never _______________ and how long it will take for them to make a clear connection between the physical world and the dream or spiritual world.
Stanza 6: The poet wonders why you wake as the ancestors’ face becomes ____________, being unable to speak, with a tongue like ‘caked mud’.
Stanza 7: There is a reference to _____________ in the wind across the still plain.
TECHNIQUES
Metaphor
The ancestors are "shadows" that linger in dreams, represented as "bearded, faceless" spirits. They cannot be seen but are felt, and thier insights are difficult to ascertain. The beards suggest the age of the ancestors and thier wisdom. The poet wonders about their values as they cannot be clearly identified.
The ambiguity of the ancestors' message can be seen in the poet's confusion about the guidance offered from the "circle" they form around the person. The circle is like a consciousness. On the physical plane, understanding the messages of our ancestors of our consciousness cna be just as confusing and deceptive.
As individuals, we often feel a sense of belonging to the physical world, but as also to a spiritual realm and the people or shadows that inhabit it - after all, we are bound by blood to our ancestors. Perhaps that is why the poet looks to the ancestors for the guidance and wonders to what "star" their "footprints" lead.
Imagery
The poet refers to the senses to explore the mysterious nature of the ancestors. The dream world of the ancestors is extrasensory and reflects aspects that the poet can comprehend about the spirit world: the "sound of a river", the taste of "blood" and a tongue "dry/As caked mud", although the images are random and seemingly unconnected.
Juxtaposition
The dreamlike spiritual world of the ancestors is illuminated through the juxtaposed images of waking and sleeping, light and darkness, and stillness and motion. The difficulty the poet experiences trying to comprehend these messages is shown through the ambiguity and contradiction of these images. The poet is unable to define their messages because they do not make sense in the physical worldthe world the ancestors represent is not one we can comprehend while we are living.
The ancestors are situated in a landscape of mountains, rivers and desolate plains. The image of the barren ‘sand' is juxtaposed with the more fertile images of the ‘grasses’. The confusion of the poet is further juxtaposed with the image of it leaving the grasses and the sand unstirring. The poet recognises that there is wisdom in the natural landscape but cannot clearly define what these messages mean for him.
Rhetorical Questions
The poet wonders who these ancestors are, what secrets they hold and what messages they offer. The poet questions why they do not speak and how long it will take for their guidance to be voiced through the people of the present and the future, but the questions are rhetoricalhe does not expect them to be answered. The poet seems to be asking someone, perhaps even the reader (the undefined ‘you’), ‘Who are these shadows', and ‘Why do you wake/ As their faces become clearer”.
10 Mary Street
Notes on 10 Mary Street
Poem Structure
Poem Structure
Migrant Hostel
Notes on Migrant Hostel
The subtitle: "Parkes 1949 - 1951", indicates the historical and auto biographical source of the poem.
Migrant Hostels, to which immigrants were sent after arriving in Australia, were dormitory style accommodation, prison-like in appearance and organisation. As many migrants, like the Skrzynecki's, had come from Europe after World War II, the resemblance between these hostels and prisons camps at home would have been distressing. Many migrants were keen to begin their new lives in the new country. The period in a migrant hostel looking for permanent housing and work would have seemed a frustrating delay.
Being caught up in a process of mass migration, such as this, would leave individuals and even families with the sense that they were part of a bureaucratic operation rather than a human experience.
Using a documentary approach with an apparently objective tone, Skrzynecki presents a chilling image of the harsh reality of migrant's initial unwelcoming experiences in a foreign country.
The hostel dwellers are being negatively judged by the society beyond its gate, and are under the control of that society, “needing its sanction" to live.
Poem Structure
Stanza 1: The poet depicts the large number of ______________ entering Australia and leaving for migrant hostels.
Stanza 2: The members of the different ____________________ in the hostel would seek each other out for comfort.
Stanza 3: The poet and his family lived in the __________________ for two years, never sure of what would happen next.
Stanza 4: The migrants felt a sense of ______________________ and alienation from the world outside as they _______________ and exited the migrant hostel to go to work.
BELONGING
Places and the Concept of Belonging:
The subtitle: "Parkes 1949 - 1951", indicates the historical and auto biographical source of the poem.
Migrant Hostels, to which immigrants were sent after arriving in Australia, were dormitory style accommodation, prison-like in appearance and organisation. As many migrants, like the Skrzynecki's, had come from Europe after World War II, the resemblance between these hostels and prisons camps at home would have been distressing. Many migrants were keen to begin their new lives in the new country. The period in a migrant hostel looking for permanent housing and work would have seemed a frustrating delay.
Being caught up in a process of mass migration, such as this, would leave individuals and even families with the sense that they were part of a bureaucratic operation rather than a human experience.
Using a documentary approach with an apparently objective tone, Skrzynecki presents a chilling image of the harsh reality of migrant's initial unwelcoming experiences in a foreign country.
The hostel dwellers are being negatively judged by the society beyond its gate, and are under the control of that society, “needing its sanction" to live.
Poem Structure
Stanza 1: The poet depicts the large number of ______________ entering Australia and leaving for migrant hostels.
Stanza 2: The members of the different ____________________ in the hostel would seek each other out for comfort.
Stanza 3: The poet and his family lived in the __________________ for two years, never sure of what would happen next.
Stanza 4: The migrants felt a sense of ______________________ and alienation from the world outside as they _______________ and exited the migrant hostel to go to work.
BELONGING
Places and the Concept of Belonging:
- Parkes Hostel. The inhabitants of the hostel come and go but no one seems to have control or to have achieved a place to belong yet. There is a sense of anonymity and randomness in the first stanza. This reinforces the immigrants’ sense of insecurity and nervousness about the situation.
- The Past. The immigrants continue to be haunted by their recent wartime experiences that impact upon their ability to belong. This has an impact on their ability to cope effectively with their current situation. “Memories of hunger and hate” further isolate the immigrants, practically at night when it is more difficult to pretend that they are safe and their future secure.
- Discrimination. The barrier at the main gate symbolises isolation from the outside world and acts as a barrier to belonging. While the highway represents their future and the possibilities of their new life, their attempts to travel along it at this time are thwarted. The barrier is personified, and rises and falls as a reminder that they are unwelcome: the highway “rose and fell like a finger.”
- Dislocation. Others may determine whether belonging is realised. The old world has been exchanged for one that is unfamiliar, confusing and unwelcoming. The Skrzynecki’s lived like “birds of passage", sensing change but unable to respond. They are never certain of when they might leave and decisions are made by faceless bureaucrats.
- The Future. It will take time to create a sense of belonging. The migrants wonder whether their lives are beginning or ending. The final two lines of the poem create a sense of ambiguity. They question whether the immigrants’ lives are about to begin or whether the arrival in Australia signifies the end of their culture. The promise of a place to belong -a new land and new opportunities - is not immediately realised.
- The Skrzyneckis'. The family question is whether they will achieve belonging in their lives. There is much uncertainty in the midst of change. As mentioned before, the family live like “birds of passage". The simile exposes the fragility and sense of dislocation and uncertainty surrounding where they belong that permeates their lives. In the midst of change, it is difficult for the family to ascertain where they are heading and if they will again achieve a sense of belonging in their lives. Peter experiences growing up in an ethnic environment of adjustment and adaptation.
- The Other Immigrants experience similar barriers to belonging. The family's experience is likened to that of other immigrants. This is revealed by the poet’s pronoun choice of the inclusive “us”, denoting a group mentality. This is an anxious time filled with disappointment and frustration at the delay, uncertainty and a sense of powerlessness, as seen in the rhetorical question: “Who would be coming next?"
- The Immigrants congregate in nationality groups to provide mutual support and to create a transitory sense of belonging. The simile “sought/ Each other out instinctively/ Like a homing pigeon” conveys the desire for comfort, the need to speak their own language and to find others to identify with amidst the uncertainty of their situation. The image highlights the instinctive behaviour of people who are placed in uncertain situations. Mutual support limits the negative experience of the migrant hostel and allows the development of a sense of belonging.
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In the Folk Museum
Notes on In the Folk Museum
While the poet is at a folk museum, he reflects on the history, cultural beliefs and customs of people in Australia represented by the relics on display. The poet does not share this same sense of cultural history. For the poet, the relics in the museum, and the people who look after them, represent a culture that he does not belong to.
He states that relics are part of a culture’s heritage that last forever and cannot be changed. His alienation from the dominant culture is further accentuated by the woman who asks him to sign the visitor’s book -he is as much a visitor to the culture he has just witnessed as he is to the museum itself.
Poem Structure
Stanza 1: The poem begins in the rooms of the folk museum. The poet recognises the absent voices of the people whose lives are ___________________ in the museum.
Stanza 2: The poet is in one of the rooms, reading the notes that _________________ the relics on display. The poet acknowledges that these relics represent a ____________ that he does not belong to.
Stanza 3: The poet notices a _____________________ sitting beside machinery and knitting, and he observes her grey hair.
Stanza 4: The poet hears people ____________________ Christian songs in the Town Hall next door to the museum. As the poet tries to memorise the titles of the books, the word 'eternity' stands out from the words of a _________________.
Stanza 5: As the noise of the wind can be heard, the poet attempts to leave, but is ______________________ by a woman who asks him to sign the visitors’ book.
BELONGING
Places and the Concept of Belonging:
While the poet is at a folk museum, he reflects on the history, cultural beliefs and customs of people in Australia represented by the relics on display. The poet does not share this same sense of cultural history. For the poet, the relics in the museum, and the people who look after them, represent a culture that he does not belong to.
He states that relics are part of a culture’s heritage that last forever and cannot be changed. His alienation from the dominant culture is further accentuated by the woman who asks him to sign the visitor’s book -he is as much a visitor to the culture he has just witnessed as he is to the museum itself.
Poem Structure
Stanza 1: The poem begins in the rooms of the folk museum. The poet recognises the absent voices of the people whose lives are ___________________ in the museum.
Stanza 2: The poet is in one of the rooms, reading the notes that _________________ the relics on display. The poet acknowledges that these relics represent a ____________ that he does not belong to.
Stanza 3: The poet notices a _____________________ sitting beside machinery and knitting, and he observes her grey hair.
Stanza 4: The poet hears people ____________________ Christian songs in the Town Hall next door to the museum. As the poet tries to memorise the titles of the books, the word 'eternity' stands out from the words of a _________________.
Stanza 5: As the noise of the wind can be heard, the poet attempts to leave, but is ______________________ by a woman who asks him to sign the visitors’ book.
BELONGING
Places and the Concept of Belonging:
- The muesum. The museum symbolises the poet’s feelings of not belonging to Australian culture. A folk museum transmits historical and cultural information through a number of generations: it is an institution for preserving and exhibiting historical objects. The setting is established in the opening stanza. The museum is a cold, dark and silent place that seems empty of people and life.
- Worship. Skrzynecki feels isolated by religion, that adds to his feelings of not belonging. The excluding pronoun "they” describes the worshippers in the Town Hall and further serves to separate and isolate the poet.
- Evolution. Skrzynecki alludes to the thoughts and writings of Pierre Teilard de Chardin in his search for a sense of belonging. De Chardin was one of the few figures in the history of the Catholic Church to achieve renown as both a scientist and a theologian and wrote on the theory of evolution: “the Future of Man”. This allows the poet to reflect on his own evolution, formation of self and identity as an Australian of European background.
- Peter Skrzynecki. Memories of his visit to the museum and the feeling of isolation it evoked are still vivid, and heighten feelings of not belonging. The experience is brought to life through the use of the present tense and made real again for the reader: “I look at words”. Skrzynecki indicates his cultural detachment in his musings on belonging. The poet lists the objects viewed in the museum in a very random order. This portrays his cold and detached attitude towards them. He describes these objects as relics, which prescribes religious significance to them in the eyes of Australians, but not of Skrzynecki.
The visit highlights his inner conflict of not knowing where he belongs. He does not feel like a true Australian, who may look at such items of historical value, feel pride and have some emotional response. Skrzynecki reinforces this detachment at the end of Stanza 2: “To remind me of a past/ Which isn’t mine”.
The poet attempts to force some sense of belonging with the museum. Skrzynecki tries to relate to the historical events and ideas expressed there. He simultaneously hears “Eternity, Eternity” reminding him of the enormity of history and giving rise to his reflections on his place in it. The repetition of the words in combination with a measured and lulling pace created through assonance creates a sense of time slowed. This gives rise to the poet’s further reflections on self and identity in historical and future contexts. - The Caretaker is a faceless representative of Australia's Anglo past and culture. She belongs to the local culture, unlike the persona. She sits next to a winnowing machine, an agriculture machine that separates grain from chaff, creating a metaphor for separating the true Australians from the new arrivals from different backgrounds.
Her eyes are diverted and she appears unapproachable. Her hair colour matches the grey clay bottle that sits in the museum and was sourced locally, making them appear to be made of the same stuff and fusing them in their Australianness, illustrating Skrzynecki’s feeling of isolation within Australian society.
Postcard
Notes on Postcard
The poet has received a postcard from a friend in Poland, depicting the old part of the city of Warsaw, so that the poet can show it to his parents and remind them of where they came from. The postcard reminds the poet of where he too came from, a place he is detached of from living in Australia. For him, Warsaw is great in the sense that the city has endured hardship and still has an impact on his own sense of self.
Despite the poet’s efforts to ignore the lure of Poland, he realises that he cannot ignore its connection to who he is. He feels angry and confused by the arrival of the postcard and comes to understand that it symbolises something he has lost, and does not feel he completely belongs to. The poet continues to reflect on his heritage and is confronted by the inevitable that he can no longer be isolated from it.
Poem Structure
The poem is divided into three numbered sections and contains seven stanzas.
Section 1
The poet receives the postcard.
Stanza 1: The poet is asked to show the postcard, titled ‘Warsaw: Panorama of the Old Town’ to his parents.
Stanza 2: The photo is described.
Section 2
The style of the poem changes and the city of Warsaw is addressed directly.
Stanza 3: Previously, the poet saw the city as something ___________; now he sees it directly, describing the effects of World War ll on the city.
Stanza 4: The poet is obstinate in his refusal to _________________________ the city and his connection to it.
Stanza 5: The poet recognises the ____________________ of the city, but is angry that it appears to want more from him.
Section 3
Attention is brought back to the postcard and the poet’s response to it, but this time with more of an emotional sentiment.
Stanza 6: The poet stares at the postcard and refuses to answer the request of the city to acknowledge its ___________________ to his heritage.
Stanza 7: The tree ___________________ to the poet that he and the city will meet before he dies.
BELONGING
Places and the Concept of Belonging:
TECHNIQUES
Descriptive Language
The word 'haunts' symbolises that the postcard and its subject are significant to the poet because they represent the ghosts of his heritage. A description of the city of Warsaw is shown through the list of the city’s features: a red bus on a bridge, high rise flats and the river with its concrete pylons.
Narrative Voice
The poet directly addresses the city of Warsaw: “I never knew you”, in second person to show his strong emotional response as he realises that he has never known the city. His only recollection would have been from the descriptions by his parents and their friends, the “dying generation/ Half a world way.”
The poet shifts to third person when the city is described. “Great city” occupies a single line, indicating the importance of the city’s heritage to the poet. The lines that follow contradict that line, as they represent the destruction of the city from Nazi occupation: it is a city “That bombs destroyed/ Its people massacred/ Or exiled.” For the poet’s parents, the city is alive in their minds, but for the next generation represented by the poet, the image of the city is fading. The poet is representing this dislocation from his heritage through the description of a city he has never seen.
Symbolism
The white eagle was a symbol for Poland from the country’s foundation and, at the time the poem was written, was symbolic of a free Poland rather than one under communist rule. The image of those who “drink to freedom/ Under the White Eagle’s flag” suggests that in the mind of the poet’s parents, the connection to their homeland is still strong. They defend Poland against those who would critique it and value the old religion of Catholicism. For the poet’s parents, there is still a sense of belonging tied to their homeland. For the poet, much of his anger and confusion is tied to the fact that he does not have the same connection to Poland as his parents do.
Personification
In Stanza 6, the poet refuses to answer “The voices/ Of red gables/ And a cloudless sky." He uses the personification of the city to show how strongly he is confronted with the inevitable, and that he cannot ignore his heritage if he is to understand himself. When the tree on the postcard whispers to him, “We will meet/ Before you die” the poet recognises that if he is to be free from his anger and confusion, and is to understand his identity, he must return to his fatherland.
FURTHER NOTES
*Discuss what a post card means to you. Why do people send them instead of letters? What is their purpose and their context? How do they reinforce a sense of belonging?
*Note the title of the poem. A post card is a simple thing, yet in this case it triggers a response that the poet never expected. The poem is divided into three sections, each with a specific function in the poem:
1. The post card arrives
2. It prompts memories and a relationship with the city that the poet has not yet acknowledged and asks questions he does not wish to answer
3. The final section forces the confrontation and the poet acknowledges that his heritage must be faced.
1. The use of the word 'haunts' immediately suggests that the post card is notable, that it has significance for the poet because it has connotations of ghosts or ideas hanging around that are unwanted.
The card is from Poland and depicts the old part of the city of Warsaw. A friend has sent it and has selected it so that the poet can show it to his parents because it would remind them of where they came from. The second stanza, in the first section, is a simple description of the photo on the post card -red buses, high-rise flats, the river and the sky. There is nothing extraordinary in the picture.
2. The poet however, is struck by the moment. He realises that before this he had only thought of the city as something distant and detached from his life in the third person, but now he addresses the city directly, in the second person. He describes Warsaw as great, probably in the sense of being a large, historic city where many things have happened and perhaps great in the sense that it has an influence on the poet. He describes how it was destroyed by bombs, its people killed or forced to leave, but, in spite of that, the city still lives in the minds of those who were forced to flee.
In spite of the distance, they keep its memory alive and still feel a connection with it. They defend Poland against those who would criticise it, and, despite its communism, they cherish the old religion of Catholicism. They boast about its remaking thirty years later as a democracy. The images are strongly patriotic; the White Eagle is a symbol of freedom on the country’s flag. The poet reveals his conflict. He is trying to ignore the pull of his heritage. The scene on the post card is common and should be easy to resist. His father will feel pride when he sees these images of his earlier years. His mother will use these images to trigger her own memories of the Ukraine. The problem for the poet lies in the question that ends this stanza. The poet can see what the city offers and he can admire it but he is confused and angry that it appears to want more from him than he is prepared or able to give. This stanza also ends with a question and this reinforces the conflict for the poet to acknowledge his connection to the old world of his parents is to acknowledge that it is
something he has lost.
3. The third section brings attention back to the post card which stimulated the poet’s reflection on his heritage. The post card has asked the questions but the poet refuses to answer them. Suddenly he is confronted by the inevitable. He cannot ignore the fact of his heritage. When the tree whispers to him, it signals the end of his insularity. This is the last poem in the book and possibly concludes a journey for the poet that began when he left Europe with his parents. Because he has no conscious memory of that time, it has taken many years to acknowledge his heritage and that he belongs in two cultures.
TASK
The poet has received a postcard from a friend in Poland, depicting the old part of the city of Warsaw, so that the poet can show it to his parents and remind them of where they came from. The postcard reminds the poet of where he too came from, a place he is detached of from living in Australia. For him, Warsaw is great in the sense that the city has endured hardship and still has an impact on his own sense of self.
Despite the poet’s efforts to ignore the lure of Poland, he realises that he cannot ignore its connection to who he is. He feels angry and confused by the arrival of the postcard and comes to understand that it symbolises something he has lost, and does not feel he completely belongs to. The poet continues to reflect on his heritage and is confronted by the inevitable that he can no longer be isolated from it.
Poem Structure
The poem is divided into three numbered sections and contains seven stanzas.
Section 1
The poet receives the postcard.
Stanza 1: The poet is asked to show the postcard, titled ‘Warsaw: Panorama of the Old Town’ to his parents.
Stanza 2: The photo is described.
Section 2
The style of the poem changes and the city of Warsaw is addressed directly.
Stanza 3: Previously, the poet saw the city as something ___________; now he sees it directly, describing the effects of World War ll on the city.
Stanza 4: The poet is obstinate in his refusal to _________________________ the city and his connection to it.
Stanza 5: The poet recognises the ____________________ of the city, but is angry that it appears to want more from him.
Section 3
Attention is brought back to the postcard and the poet’s response to it, but this time with more of an emotional sentiment.
Stanza 6: The poet stares at the postcard and refuses to answer the request of the city to acknowledge its ___________________ to his heritage.
Stanza 7: The tree ___________________ to the poet that he and the city will meet before he dies.
BELONGING
Places and the Concept of Belonging:
- Warsaw. The poet feels Warsaw is a place he should belong to. Skrzynecki addresses the town as an old friend in the second part of the poem. This is ironic, as he has never visited the city in Poland. It suggests an odd intimacy with the place, further set out in the observation “You survived/ In the minds/ Of a dying generation.” This reveals that his perspective of Warsaw is bound up in the memories of his parents, who feel that they belong there more than they belong in Australia.
The poet can see what the city offers in its physicality, but he is confused and angry that it appears to want more of him than he can give. The city personified through the use of the second person “you” and is brought to life as the poet ponders what makes the place so significant. He feels that the city calls to him challengingly, and yet he is loathed to acknowledge the offer of acceptance from the city.
- The war. The poet‘s parents belong to Warsaw and have strong historical and cultural ties to the city. Skrzynecki describes how bombs destroyed Warsaw - a large and historical city. His imagery defines the hold that the past and home have on Polish immigrants. The white eagle symbolises freedom and evokes strong feelings of patriotism. Warsaw has had a tumultuous history. The revealing of this information in stanza 3 illustrates Skrzynecki’s emotional process of recognition and acceptance of his cultural ancestry and his place in it.
- At the River's Bank. The poet introduces a more hopeful note in his quest to create a sense of belonging in his life. The parting image of the lone tree whispering “We will meet” suggests a sense of hope for the future as well as the impression that the poet will confront and resolve some of the issues that concern him.
- Peter Skrzynecki. Peter feels marginalised by the scene on the postcard that means so much to his parents, but that creates a barrier to belonging for him. This frustrates him. An intense feeling of guilt is conveyed through the use of the simple and urgent “Let me be”, as the poet attempts to deny the pull of his heritage, which reveals his conflict. Skrzynecki rhetorically asks about his choice of home and where he belongs: “What‘s my choice/ To be?”, reinforcing his inner conflict.
- Peter's Parents. The poet’s distant association with Warsaw contrasts with his parents' love for the city, and impacts upon him achieving a sense of belonging. They keep its memory alive and still feel a connection with it; they defend Poland against critics and cherish Catholicism despite communism. They boast and are emotional in their memories of the place.
TECHNIQUES
Descriptive Language
The word 'haunts' symbolises that the postcard and its subject are significant to the poet because they represent the ghosts of his heritage. A description of the city of Warsaw is shown through the list of the city’s features: a red bus on a bridge, high rise flats and the river with its concrete pylons.
Narrative Voice
The poet directly addresses the city of Warsaw: “I never knew you”, in second person to show his strong emotional response as he realises that he has never known the city. His only recollection would have been from the descriptions by his parents and their friends, the “dying generation/ Half a world way.”
The poet shifts to third person when the city is described. “Great city” occupies a single line, indicating the importance of the city’s heritage to the poet. The lines that follow contradict that line, as they represent the destruction of the city from Nazi occupation: it is a city “That bombs destroyed/ Its people massacred/ Or exiled.” For the poet’s parents, the city is alive in their minds, but for the next generation represented by the poet, the image of the city is fading. The poet is representing this dislocation from his heritage through the description of a city he has never seen.
Symbolism
The white eagle was a symbol for Poland from the country’s foundation and, at the time the poem was written, was symbolic of a free Poland rather than one under communist rule. The image of those who “drink to freedom/ Under the White Eagle’s flag” suggests that in the mind of the poet’s parents, the connection to their homeland is still strong. They defend Poland against those who would critique it and value the old religion of Catholicism. For the poet’s parents, there is still a sense of belonging tied to their homeland. For the poet, much of his anger and confusion is tied to the fact that he does not have the same connection to Poland as his parents do.
Personification
In Stanza 6, the poet refuses to answer “The voices/ Of red gables/ And a cloudless sky." He uses the personification of the city to show how strongly he is confronted with the inevitable, and that he cannot ignore his heritage if he is to understand himself. When the tree on the postcard whispers to him, “We will meet/ Before you die” the poet recognises that if he is to be free from his anger and confusion, and is to understand his identity, he must return to his fatherland.
FURTHER NOTES
*Discuss what a post card means to you. Why do people send them instead of letters? What is their purpose and their context? How do they reinforce a sense of belonging?
*Note the title of the poem. A post card is a simple thing, yet in this case it triggers a response that the poet never expected. The poem is divided into three sections, each with a specific function in the poem:
1. The post card arrives
2. It prompts memories and a relationship with the city that the poet has not yet acknowledged and asks questions he does not wish to answer
3. The final section forces the confrontation and the poet acknowledges that his heritage must be faced.
1. The use of the word 'haunts' immediately suggests that the post card is notable, that it has significance for the poet because it has connotations of ghosts or ideas hanging around that are unwanted.
The card is from Poland and depicts the old part of the city of Warsaw. A friend has sent it and has selected it so that the poet can show it to his parents because it would remind them of where they came from. The second stanza, in the first section, is a simple description of the photo on the post card -red buses, high-rise flats, the river and the sky. There is nothing extraordinary in the picture.
2. The poet however, is struck by the moment. He realises that before this he had only thought of the city as something distant and detached from his life in the third person, but now he addresses the city directly, in the second person. He describes Warsaw as great, probably in the sense of being a large, historic city where many things have happened and perhaps great in the sense that it has an influence on the poet. He describes how it was destroyed by bombs, its people killed or forced to leave, but, in spite of that, the city still lives in the minds of those who were forced to flee.
In spite of the distance, they keep its memory alive and still feel a connection with it. They defend Poland against those who would criticise it, and, despite its communism, they cherish the old religion of Catholicism. They boast about its remaking thirty years later as a democracy. The images are strongly patriotic; the White Eagle is a symbol of freedom on the country’s flag. The poet reveals his conflict. He is trying to ignore the pull of his heritage. The scene on the post card is common and should be easy to resist. His father will feel pride when he sees these images of his earlier years. His mother will use these images to trigger her own memories of the Ukraine. The problem for the poet lies in the question that ends this stanza. The poet can see what the city offers and he can admire it but he is confused and angry that it appears to want more from him than he is prepared or able to give. This stanza also ends with a question and this reinforces the conflict for the poet to acknowledge his connection to the old world of his parents is to acknowledge that it is
something he has lost.
3. The third section brings attention back to the post card which stimulated the poet’s reflection on his heritage. The post card has asked the questions but the poet refuses to answer them. Suddenly he is confronted by the inevitable. He cannot ignore the fact of his heritage. When the tree whispers to him, it signals the end of his insularity. This is the last poem in the book and possibly concludes a journey for the poet that began when he left Europe with his parents. Because he has no conscious memory of that time, it has taken many years to acknowledge his heritage and that he belongs in two cultures.
TASK
- Make notes on the language features used by the poet in ”Postcard”.
- Because so many people travel the world, work in other countries and migrate more freely than ever before, it could be said that national identity and the importance of belonging to a particular national group or culture is declining. Do you think this is borne out by Peter Skrzynecki’s poem, ”Postcard”? Why or ; Why not?
- Design a postcard which represents places or ideas which your parents or family value.