Poetry Response #5

The poem “In Blackwater Woods” by Mary Oliver is about autumn and the cycle of life. Its simplicity, reliance on imagery, and focus on the beauty of nature reminded me of other famous poets like Emily Dickenson. Oliver seeks to understand life through being one with nature. In this poem, Oliver captures the essence of the fall season by having the leaves not only turn colors, but by having them give off “the rich fragrance of cinnamon.” By painting this vivid picture of an autumn scene and appealing to the sense of smell, Oliver draws the audience to her work. To further stress the importance of nature, she uses personification when referring to the bodies of the trees and describing the cattails floating over the “blue shoulders” of the pond. It is curious why she chooses to describe the banks of a pond as a shoulder. On closer reading of the poem, it appears the ponds turned their shoulders to the trees as they were burning. The ponds were not able to stop the great fires that burned the forest and ultimately brought it death. That is why Oliver describes the water as “the black river of loss” and the title of the poem, “In Blackwater Woods” reiterates this idea of death.

Oliver uses the natural phenomenon of forest fires to relate it to one’s mortality. She does not seem to be lamenting the loss caused by the fires but rather accepts death as one’s ultimate outcome. Instead of being pessimistic about dying or worrying about whether there is salvation, Oliver offers a quiet celebration of life. She finds solace and meaning in life. She advises the reader “to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.” Implied by this is the philosophy that man should live his life to the fullest. Man should ‘saisir le moment’ or seize the moment since he does not know how long he will live or what happens to him after death. One should enjoy life and appreciate the beauty in nature.