Nothing Gold Can Stay

Today, like all MWF, I had my Robert Frost class, which I genuinely enjoyed. We studied a poem called “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, and I found it to be very inspiring, so I’ll share it with y’all.

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

We had a discussion in this class about this poem. It’s a 450 level class, but it’s the most fun I’ve had lately. Some people thought the poem was about how everything that is perfect is ephemeral, and quickly falls away to reality. Others thought this poem was about the cyclical patterns of nature, and about how things start out fresh and anew but then resume the cycle, ie the novelty soon wears off. It’s evident that the colors green and cold are valued here in this poem, so just because the leaves are no longer gold doesn’t make them any less valuable. I think the poem speaks to all of us about how we should cherish those moments when things are “golden,” those little perfect rays of sunshine that make our lives worth living.

And this class happens to be one of mine!

If you like what you’ve just read, get involved in English here . . the department is great. I truly have enjoyed every class I’ve taken and I cannot wait to take more!