Name : Jasmine Mutiara NPM : 1006715452

The Meaning behind Time is Running Out and Its Poetic Devices
Oodgeroo Noonuccal (pronounced Ood-ger-rooh Nooh-nuh-cal) was born on November 3rd in 1920 on Stradbroke Island (the island is called Minjerriba by the aboriginal people), Queensland, of the Noonuccal people of the Yuggera group. She was best known for her poetry, although she was also an actress, writer, teacher, artist, and a campaigner for Aboriginal rights. When Oodgeroo Noonuccal died, hundreds of people mourned, but that's not what she wanted. Oodgeroo wanted people to celebrate her achievements, and to continue working for true understanding between all Australians. Oodgeroo's memory stands, today, as a shining role model for all Australians as someone who strived for true respect and understanding between both the white and black communities. One of her poems entitled Time is Running Out tells about human greediness for money and power, it is also implied that the doer is White people meanwhile the victim is Black people for there are some lines showing the reader about that. White people do not care about others, especially the Black ones, whereas it is their land that they take advantages of. Racism being the main problem is a common knowledge, no matter where and when it happens. Even up until now, that sort of thing is still committed somewhere on our so-called peaceful earth. The following paragraphs are about the meaning of Time is Running Out viewed from its every stanza, and also the poetic devices used there, all according to me. In Time is Running Out, there is no set rhyme scheme that runs throughout the poem. In the first stanza, the rhyme scheme is that every second line rhymes, for example, spade and trade. In the second and third stanzas, there is no rhyme scheme, although there are lines that rhyme in the third stanza, but there is no set pattern. Next, alliteration is when a poet, such as Oodgeroo, uses the same sound at the start of words occurring together. Oodgeroo uses alliteration in many of her poems. In the "Time is Running Out", she uses alliteration in the line, Stealing, bottling the black blood. She does this as she wants to emphasize this point, and make the focus on it. Bottling her black blood is an example of the sound device. The harsh b'

sound is effectively used here as it reinforces the bitterness of the stanzas tone. There is also repetition in the poem; Oodgeroo uses the word miner, which means White people, twice. The first stanza tells about how White people forcefully and destructively take so many minerals and other natures goodness from Black people land, which I believe here, is Australia. The figure of speech used in the first stanza are metaphor, The miner rapes (1) and The heart of earth (2), and personification, Stealing, bottling her black blood (4). In this case, the word miner refers to White people, who seem to have all the control on Black people and get all the benefit from their land. The word The heart of earth means the centre of earth where there are so many minerals buried unknowingly. Moreover, black blood here means the minerals, which are important things since they are sold to make living for White people, just like how important blood is for human. It is impossible to be able to live without it. As for the second stanza, it discusses about the effect of what White people have done to Black people land, it is destroyed for the sake of numbered papers known as money, which everybody would seemingly go crazy for. The second stanza uses apostrophe, He destroys old natures will (2) and Well he knows that violence/Of his destructive kind/Will be violently written/Upon the sands of time (5-8), and metonymy, For the sake of the filthy dollar (3). The word old natures will means natural environment and it is an apostrophe because the nature has its own will, just like human. It does not want to be destroyed, certainly. filthy dollar refers to money. Well, not all money used in the whole world is dollar, but by saying dollar is enough to convince people that it is money we are talking about. In addition, it is filthy because it is taken from someone elses land, and based on kind of one-sided agreement. The meaning of line 5 to 8 is that there is no one who could stand against White people power, and there is unlikely any proof to ditch them. Their badness would be gone like how wind erases the writing on sand, no matter how hard and violent it is written, it would just disappear easily. In the last stanza, which is the third, it talks about Black people begin to protest against White people discrimination and greediness. They eventually take a step forward to get what they deserve all these long. They should fight for themselves; otherwise they would never get their long-awaited right and freedom, and the land would get a greater impact. There are three metaphors here, To defend their timeless land (4), Come gentle black man (5), and Make

the violent miner feel (8). timeless land is used to symbolize homeland, Black people land. They have been living there for such a long time that they lose count. The word gentle black man means Black people themselves, which are considered to be gentle enough as not to strike back, despite what White people have done to them and their precious land. The last, miner still refers to White people. In my own point of viewpersonal opinion, this poem of Oodgeroo does give an effect to me. I will rethink about racism and how I should put a good manner towards people with different race, skin colour, etc. from me. We should respect each other, after all. If we treat people well, they would surely treat us the same way. So, it is basically the same as the message implied in the poem; White people, though not all, are greedy and cruel enough so that they deserve to be punished by Black people, who undoubtedly had been treated awfully they could not stand it anymore by them for such a long time, even though they were in their own land. Moreover, there is another thing I can get after understanding the meaning of the poem. I should not abuse the earth by taking as many advantages as I possibly could get from it since the earth would surely be broken later. I have to take a good care of the earth for the sake of next generation.