In “The Black Walnut Tree” by Mary Oliver, the speaker maintains the hard life of a woman and her daughter to debate if they want to sell her father’s walnut tree at their backyard.

The poem opens with the first sentences saying “My mother and I debate; we could sell the black walnut tree” to narrate the part of the poem. Between lines 7 through 11, the speaker describes the tree with a heavily establishment to her daughter whether to keep the tree or take it down. The mother discussing the bad habits of leaving the tree alone. In a women, the words regard to her mind up.

The poem shifts when the speaker mentions “But something brighter than money moves in our blood-an edge sharp” suggests that life is really important than money.