My Favorite Poem

• Introduction:
  When I was in fourth grade, I read the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Like many children, this was my first introduction to Robert Frost. At the time I did not understand the signficance of the author's message nor the symbolism. As a child, I realized life should be enjoyed each and every day. As an adult, the theme resounds deeply within me. I must let go of the past, " the golden moments" and attempt to salvage what remains when "dawn goes down to day."
  
  
  

Nothing Gold Can Stay

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 down to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

• Analysis:

• I often equated the line "Nature's first green is gold" as a reference to childhood, immaturity, and ignorance. Frequently, I hear the best times of a person's life referred to as "golden." However, these are the days we cannot hold onto. It's like watching water run through a sieve. Because these are the childhood years, we openily embrace them without regard to consciously storing them unlike when we are older.

• "Her early leaf's a flower," is much like the teenage years and young adulthood. During this stage of life young teens and adults discover who they really are. They literally "bloom" with individuality but only within "an hour" instead of years.

• "Then leaf subsides to leaf," we join our elders in the "Garden of Life. " These individuals are no longer blooming but have "sank to grief" over the loss of childhood, innocence, and ignorance due to corruption of society. "So dawn goes down to day," the golden dawn of the past is forever lost in the burning sunlight of day because "nothing gold can stay."

This is such a profound piece of poetry. I also enjoy the poems Fire and Ice and of course, The Road Not Taken. His poetry truly speaks to the heart.