In Blackwater Woods~ Mary Oliver

The poem "In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver is about the blackwater woods, and the things you find there- no surprise there. The poem is composed of  nine stanzas, with each stanza having four lines. the first stanza talks about the look of the trees, just the look of them. The second stanza is more about the smell of the trees, with the last line hinting at something more. The third stanza is about cattails, both how they themselves look and how they look against the backdrop of the water. The fourth stanza  is about the pond, though not much is said to describe it in this stanza. The fifth stanza is where a shift occurs, she goes from describing things in the Blackwater Woods to talking about why any of it matters to her. This stanza is about time and amount of knowledge and life. The sixth stanza is starts to relate the blackwater woods to her life, though in this stanza it is with a feeling of despair. The seventh stanza continues on from the sixth, with a more hopeful tone. The eighth stanza holds the beginning of the conclusion, where she finally has clear meaning. She speaks of three things you must do, though only reveals the first two. The ninth stanza contains the third thing, the conclusion, and is the longest stanza, at least by word count.