Yesterday Sergio and I drove up to Northern Vermont for the day. The camera shots taken by Sergio as we whizzed up Route 89 don’t do the foliage justice, which was particularly beautiful in New Hampshire near Hanover, Lebanon, and Enfield. The bright colors blanketing the valleys, rolling foothills and mountains made the 3.5 hour drive enjoyable and reminded me of Robert Frost’s poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay.
I’ve been faithfully posting this poem since 2009 each October in part because I love it but also because Frost’s poem is so accessible – even to those who claim they “don’t understand poetry”. Inspired by the fall foliage of New England, Frosts’ words weave a visual that is easy to follow. The underlying meaning of also reminds me to make the most of each day and to try and take nothing for granted – a good message for all of us in these times.
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.
This poem, which was first published in the Yale Review in 1923, would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1924. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
