British poetry

A Story from the Farm The poem ?The Black Walnut Tree? was written by Mary Oliver in 1979 and was first published in the poetry collection Twelve Moons. There is not much background as to why this poem was written, perhaps it was just an idea Mary Oliver had. The poem is written in complete free verse on the subject of financial struggle. The poem shows the difficult decisions that face families from time to time. The poem opens in the narrator's point of view where it shall stay throughout the whole poem. It is a very personal story of the farm that was once fruitful, but now has withered away to the point that the family is debating to sell their beloved walnut tree to pay for the mortgage. The piece is written in prose so that the impact may be greater for the reader.