“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.” ~Robert Frost
Before the gold of the new leaves of spring burst into brilliant greens I thought I’d post my favorite Robert Frost poem.
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 to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
It’s such a simple and beautiful poem about change. My uncle is also a fan of this Frosty delight. Incidentally, I have only one uncle, a burden for any man, I suppose. But he handles the position beautifully. He’s always supportive, clever, and generous, which is nice because if my only uncle were a beer-swilling meathead, I’d be sad. But, as it were, my uncle enjoys nature and books and crossword puzzles … so, we get along famously.
He referenced Nothing Gold Can Stay in a recent nature article he wrote (he’s a newspaper columnist), prompting a short online discussion between us. For my part, it’s one of the few poems I think of every year. The line “nature’s first green is gold” comes to mind each spring as tree pollen clogs my head. In fact, I curse the green-gold nature as I blow it out of my sinuses. Actually, now that I think of it, I reference this poem fairly often as I’m fond of telling my friends to “stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold” (primarily an SE Hinton reference). Oh, literary jokes from my middle school reading list … that’s high comedy.
For my uncle’s part, when he was in college at Wesleyan he asked Robert Frost to recite Nothing Gold Can Stay and Frost obliged. So, yes, when my uncle remembers the poem, he pictures Frost himself reciting his work at my uncle’s request in an intimate classroom setting while I remember the same poem when I blow my nose in the spring. My uncle’s memory link is significantly more interesting than mine. Damn elders with their good stories.
After 40 years, my uncle said he came to to feel that the poem ended on a down note. (I agree.) However, Uncle Dave thought a final quatrain would close the cycle nicely. So, he wrote one. He claims that Frost purists probably won’t like it, but he’s at an age where nothing is sacred anymore. If he wants to write a final quatrain he’ll write a final quatrain, dammit.
Naturally, I love this attitude. I think it’s a fantastic idea to use the work of others as a springboard to personal expression. I used to have students do something like this as an exercise in my creative writing classes. Much post-modern and pop art is a revisiting of the old – Warhol did it with soup cans, Barthelme with Snow White, and Gregory Maguire with the wonderful land of Oz. So, in deference to Frost and Frost purists, I present the revised version with thanks to my Uncle Dave for the last four lines.
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 to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
But green’s its own reward
And fills the forest hoard.
So let the seasons spin
–this gold will glow again!
Indeed, it will. And considering the Frost quote above about life going on, I think he’d like the alternate ending … well, what I mean is he’d probably like it had his life not stopped going on. (Hmm.)
messiestobjects said,
May 13, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I like it, although I doubt that any artist really wants other people tampering with their stuff, even if they might agree with the principle of open source art. (My coinage! The term Open Source Art is my creation! DO NOT tamper with that wording! And if you ever use it in the future, you owe me a dollar for each and every instance.)
Can I add a few chapters to The Hard Way about aliens?
julieluongo said,
May 13, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Sure. Absolutely. I’d love it if people wrote fan fiction based on my stuff.
messiestobjects said,
May 13, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Sweet! I have it in writing.
julieluongo said,
May 13, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Aliens! Sounds like fun.
Joe Trunzo said,
May 13, 2008 at 8:22 pm
If you had posted about “Nothing Gold Can Stay” and NOT referenced “The Outsiders” somewhere, I don’t know that I’d ever think the same of you Jules. As usual, you did not let me down…I am counitng the days until The Hard Way lands on my doorstep.
Lyd said,
May 13, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Bravo to you Jule, Uncle Dave and, ok, Frost too! Some mighty profound words that I also murmur every year. HHmmm, some sort of a family thing?
Gary said,
May 13, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Too sentimental.
Jim said,
May 13, 2008 at 11:56 pm
We should translate that poem to Chinese or Sanskrit or some shit and somehow make it the tat to have in the Emo community.
That’s in keeping with my personal philosophy, “As long as it’s funny to me.”
Jim said,
May 13, 2008 at 11:59 pm
WTF?
Is that little design calling me a mook?
How nice of it to cater to my personal philosophy.
julieluongo said,
May 14, 2008 at 12:58 am
गच्छति,एति, याति , Ponyboy. गच्छति,एति, याति .
Jen said,
May 16, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Bravo Uncle Dave! I have always felt that that poem ended on a downer – I approve, even if Frost might not!!!! It’s even on one of the Baby Einstein videos my children watched obsessively, and I always thought it was too much of a bummer for one-year-olds………
julieluongo said,
May 16, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Oh, then you’ll like my addendum to “find a penny, pick it up, all the day you’ll have good luck.” When pennies on the ground are too gross to pick up…I’ll say “find a penny, pick it up, all the day you’ll have good luck. Leave it for somebody else, all your life you’ll have great wealth.” Ok, so I’m rhyming “else” with “wealth,” still, it’s better than “leave the penny on the ground, and everyone will want you around” or “leave that penny for the worms and your hands won’t pick up germs.” Great wealth? That’s incentive.
Jen said,
May 17, 2008 at 10:11 pm
No no no no no – “leave that penny for the worms and your hands won’t pick up germs” is MUCH better!! That whole “leave it for somebody else….” thing would only fill me with guilt and suck all the joy out of finding a penny! I’d have to stop and think – gee, do I need the luck today, or do I wait and hope that the future will bring great wealth? And exactly what kind of wealth will it bring me? Actual cash? Emotional wealth? A wealth of knowledge? Does somebody else need this penny, and it’s luck more than I? See- there’ no joy there anymore!! Brenna already half killed the joy for me with her “only if the penny is heads up” BS that she imposed on me 20 years ago – I’m still trying to deal with that!! I need to be able to pick up a damn penny for good luck without having to think about it so freakin much!!
julieluongo said,
May 18, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Haha. Good point. Although as a general rule I pick up any cash on the ground unless it’s gross at which point I congratulate myself for being so altruistic as to leave money for someone else to find. Win-win. I’m either lucky now or generous now.
Sandy Luongo said,
May 18, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I like Uncle Dave’s revision. I especially like “hoard” and think it adds passion–and hope–to the poem.
Sandy