Ancestors- Peter Skrzynecki

A sense of belonging can be created from the connections people make throughout their lives. Belonging can also allow for people to form positive connections; however there are also many barriers to belonging. Some of these barriers are explored in peter Skrzynecki’s poem “Ancestors”. The poem shows Skrzynecki’s failure to comprehend his own cultural identity. Skrzynecki uses the idea of ancestors and ghosts to show familial, cultural and historical belonging.

In “Ancestors” the narrator experiences a disconnection and lack of belonging to his polish heritage. This is shown through the description of his ancestors. Adjectives such as shadowed and faceless show the detachment between the narrator and his ancestors as well as a lack of intimacy. The fact that there are only males present suggests that they have had a greater influence over the narrator’s cultural and social identity than females.

Scattered throughout the poem are rhetorical questions posed by the narrator himself. Lines such as ‘’who are these shadows…standing shoulder to shoulder?’’ show the exclusion and confusion the narrator feels and his lack of connection to his past. The narrator’s lack of knowledge about his culture is most likely caused by the fact that he does not know Polish. The language barrier further creates distance between the narrator and his heritage. “Whispers in the darkness” and “why do they never speak?” suggest that the narrator is not able to communicate fully with his ancestors.

In the poem imagery shows the narrator’s personal awareness of his surroundings and how they can people, the past and the environment you live in can impact your own sense of belonging or in the narrator’s case not belonging. The imagery of the circle in stanza three shows the exclusion the narrator feels as he is not a part of the circle yet somehow included as he is inside it. This juxtaposes the idea of a circle being a symbol of unity and wholeness.