"Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost
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.
Last Friday I drove up to Saint John's Univ. to pick up a few things from a CH supporter. Whilst there, I had the opportunity to reconnect with a dear friend from college, whom I hadn't seen in three years. He currently lives in South Korea and was home for two short weeks. My last parting with this friend wasn't particularly pleasant, but we've kept in touch by email and the occasional telephone call. In truth, this is my fault. I messed up three years ago... and I haven't yet had the courage to try to make things right...
While my friend and I were reminiscing about the "good old times" (a mere four years ago), we lingered on a lovely, magical summer we spent living at Saint John's. The activities that entertained us each evening... riding our bicycles to Avon or Saint Joseph, playing "Mafia," tossing a frisbee around outside his dorm and having deep discussions about Harry Potter... are legendary. The simplicity of our lives and our relationship was refreshing and beautiful. My friend told me that when he reflects on those months, the images that are conjured up in his minds eye hold a golden tint. To him, that was our "golden summer." His description of those wonderful, warm evenings is perfect. Our golden summer was everything a summer should be--lazy, comfortable, simple, refreshing... and much of our time together was spent in the weaning hours of sunlight... with the world reflected in a brilliant, golden glow. But like Mr. Frost poetically quipped, "Nothing gold can stay," and our summer of simplicity, warmth and love soon faded to Fall... and the chaos of school, the stress of graduation and the fear that inevitably accompanies new love soon followed.
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