what does this mean?

Question

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.



Robert Frost

Answer 1

"Nature's first green is gold," refers to the leaves that come out are green. Frost implies that it is valuable, since he calls it "gold."


"Her hardest hue to hold."
It's hard to hold onto good things, those which are "gold."

"Her early leaf's a flower;"
The first leaf looks like a flower, opening,
but only for a short time:
"But only so an hour."


"Then leaf subsides to leaf."
Nothing stays, everything changes.

"So Eden sank to grief,"
Adam and Eve couldn't stay in Paradise.

neither can the sun stay out all the time:
So dawn goes down to day.

Why? Nothing gold can stay.

That which is precious cannot be held onto.
It comes, it goes.

Answer 2

Beauty is fleeting. Buds on trees in early spring are kinda gold colored, some trees flower before the leaves come out, even when the leaves come out, they're shiny and fresh at first but eventually turn a harder green and then, of course, later they die and fall and turn brown. Dawn, as beautiful as it can be, turns to day, which is kind of ordinary. Eden was supposedly a beautiful paradise, at first, but it, too, like the leaves, like the dawn, changed. Nothing gold can stay. Pretty interesting little poem, all in all.

Answer 3

This poem is about how when something is new, it's green, and priceless as gold, but does not last long. Then, as it ages, things are no longer "new" and golden.

Answer 4

Material needs dissolve over time, money is not worth the trouble, one should focus on nature

Answer 5

I believe it is saying that nothing perfect lasts forever, but in a much more beautiful way.

Answer 6

nothing is forver, and everyhting always comes to an end.

Answer 7

Think about it!