Nothing Gold Can Stay. Or can it?
I decided to do this entry on the poem that was actually assigned to my group in class. Nothing Gold Can Stay. This has always been a favorite of mine. He describes that youth in nature cannot last forever. In the very first line of the poem he says," Nature's first green is gold." He is talking about how things bud and turn into these beautiful plants or flowers. These things should be cherished for all they are worth because within a few weeks or months they will be gone. But the one thing he doesn't mention in this is that they come back around the next year. So it actually really can stay if you think about it. But in the comparison of nature to a human life, it is a true statement for not everyone can be a little kid forever. You must cherish your youth when you have it and use it to your full advantage. I think his meaning in this poem is very deep for such a short poem that could be blown off in an instant.
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Andrew Adams on Nothing Gold Can Stay. Or can it?: I love this response for a cou
Annamarie Houston on Nothing Gold Can Stay. Or can it?: I really like that this is wha
Matt Henderson on Nothing Gold Can Stay. Or can it?: That's what I really love abou
Carlos Peredo on Nothing Gold Can Stay. Or can it?: Nice response! It makes me th
Annamarie Houston on Nothing Gold Can Stay. Or can it?: I really like that this is wha
Matt Henderson on Nothing Gold Can Stay. Or can it?: That's what I really love abou
Carlos Peredo on Nothing Gold Can Stay. Or can it?: Nice response! It makes me th
Nice response!
It makes me think about how some flowers like buds bloom every year and then they "die" in the winter. I get the image of the flower lying dormant in the plant waiting for the chance. In much the same way I think of how even as adults we cherish our childhood and little things like a snow fall or a teddy bear can bring back that youthful nature within us.
I agree with you, I think this is a fact that Frost over looks. Youth CAN last in nature, just not a permanent, flagrant display of our youthfulness.
That's what I really love about Robert Frost; he can always find a nice simple nature-based metaphor to express a complex idea. I think his metaphor still holds up even when you compare nature to humans: although people can not return to youth, the human race in general is always renewing itself, just like the flower. The individual people who are young cannot last forever, just like the current leaves of a flower will fade and fall off by the time winter rolls around. People and plants are always replenishing, but in order to do so they can't hold on to the joy of the moment forever. Sooner or later they have to move on and change, and I think that's what this poem is trying to express.
I really like that this is what you got out of it. I'm more of a "take it at face value" person so it's hard for me to go such deeps meanings out of poems. But what you said is so true. Youth (physically at least) cannot last forever. It should be cherished while it's there for not only it's beauty but for what it stands for. It's like a new beginning, in a way, if that makes sense. Kind of like when a life ends a new one begins. Nothing lasts but for what leaves a new life (or youth) comes. Nature is always revolving.
I love this response for a couple of reasons. One, I feel you really hit the nail on the head as to the poem's meaning. Also, I love how you think outside the box when it comes to flowers coming again next year. However, I think what Frost would be going for in this situation would be that life is one season, so when thought about that way we should really appreciate each person's "season" because then they won't be around anymore.