In Blackwater Woods

Oliver favors short lines in this poem, mimicking the silence and blank space that must be allowed for when paying attention to the world or being introspective.

[3] "In Blackwater Woods" contains imagery of a forest during autumn, which she connects to the idea of accepting death as part of life.

It is based on a part of Province Lands in the Cape Cod National Seashore in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

[6] Naive art also focuses on simplicity over subtlety[citation needed] and Oliver has been quoted as saying that Poetry "mustn't be fancy" but should instead be clear.

[1] "In Blackwater Woods" is also considered to show Oliver allowing the reader to inhabit the perspective of the plants and animals that make up the natural world described.