The repeating “ I am”
in each stanza is
suggesting a steady
beat. This beat can
means the on going
length on time.
Moreover this
personifies time and
suggest power over
human.
“Mileage on the
yellow signs”
suggest that time is
constantly moving
forward. No one
will be exception
from this.
“Dust” is something
that scatters
everywhere but
can’t be felt. It is
describing the
existence of Time is
like dust.
A sense of
perfection in single
moments.
Time is all the
things around
us and
beyond.
“Measurable”
suggest that the
world tries to put
a measurement on
Time. However
refuse to face the
fact that Time is
not measurable
This may refer to
Time’s dominance
in every area.
Everything obeys to
Time. However it
as a strong force it
is not fearful.
Time
“Air” is something
essential to all living
things. It is so easy to find
but no one will forget
how valuable it is.
Perhaps describing what
time is to human.
Without time our world
wouldn’t be moving on.
Allen Curnow
I am the nor’west air nosing among the pines
I am the water-race and the rust on railway lines
I am the mileage recorded on the yellow signs.
“Rust” suggest a sense
of old and ancient.
Perhaps hinting the
history to time.
This line suggest
that Time treats
everyone equally. It
is the real elder
being that looks
after us.
I am dust, I am distance, I am lupins back of the beach
I am the sums the sole-charge teachers teach
I am cows called to milking and the magpie’s screech
This line is
describing an
everyday routine.
Suggest Time is part
of our life. Moreover
this scene is
something we don’t
Perhaps Time is
really appreciate.
something peaceful
This time may not
and sweet.
be appreciated or
These sounds suggest valued.
the intangibility of
time and highlight
that time full fill our
life.
I am nine o’clock in the morning when the office is clean
I am the slap of the belting and the smell of the machine
I am the place in the park where the lovers where seen.
I am the recurrent music the children hear
I am the level noises in the remembering ear
I am the sawmill and the passionate second gear.
I, Time, am all these, yet exist
Among my mountainous fabrics like a mist,
So do they measurable world resist.
I, Time, call down, condense, confer
On the willing memory the shapes these were:
I, more than your conscious carrier,
“Mountainous” suggest the world is
something that have actually shapes and
volume. However Time, like a “mist”
covers the mountain and is intangible.
Time is something mysterious and it’s
beautiful that way.
This line suggest the length of time
is beyond what you can imagine. It
started before you’re birth, passes by
while you’re asleep and continues
after you die.
Am island, am sea, am father, farm, and friend
Though I am here all things my coming attend;
I am, you have heard it, the Beginning and the End.
In this line we can sense a very
confident and convincing tone. It is as
if “Time” is talking directing to the
reader. Moreover, this kind of reminds
me of elder person full of wisdom. Time
is gently watching over us through all of
our lives like we are it’s children. Time
maybe strong and absolute, but it is also
like someone loving and pleasant.
Structure
On the stanzas all contain three lines
and there are constant rhymes at the end
of lines. It give us a sense that things are
all well planned out and organized. This
may suggest that life is well in order,
things that happened stays happened. No
matter how much strength we’ve got, we
change Time. Time goes above us.
“the Beginning and the End”
make reference to the Bible. It
suggests something superior.
Themes/Ideas
•Time cannot be defined by
human.
•Time is not measurable.
•Time cannot be controlled.
•Time is not appreciated.
•Time is beyond human
knowledge.
BY JESSICA YEH 11D