MOAK: The golden green fades, but it’s OK

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.

— “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” Robert Frost

 I know I seem to prattle on about nature-related subjects, this being the sixth time out of eight columns so far. However, I like to think of the above verse during early March because it reminds me of a very time-sensitive situation. The season’s first buds only last for a brief spell; spring’s flowery show will soon grow to seem commonplace and unexceptional.

As is often the case with his poetry, Frost provides a wry observation that verges on the celebratory but ends up being more of a lament. I understand his perspective, though. Daffodils appear very nearly by surprise each year. Red maples burst to early life seemingly overnight in late February. Most recently, we find the green he so rightly calls gold adorning bough after bough, like precious jewels on trees’ great, wide crowns. These treasures abound this time of year, though they are also easy to miss — take note while you can, as passing days take us further from such purity and brilliance.

I’ll share with you one thing I like to do while Mother Nature holds her early leaves for that brief hour. Surrounding (or in some cases looming over) my house, I have several trees: oaks, pecans and pears. When my eye falls on the young leaves of each tree — first the pears, then the oaks, lastly the pecans—I enjoy walking to my mailbox a little slower. I always imagine a sign on each tree stating, “Look But Also Touch,” so I do. My paltry writing skills can hardly capture the essence of the leaves’ softness, a golden quality to which Frost alludes. Such gentle, delicate blooms sprouting from endless fingers made blank by winter’s chill. My hands enjoy their graceful, fluid feel, and my eyes enjoy their pale, fuzzy colors. Add a sunset and some crickets to the scene if you like. Nice.

Though eased by nature’s dazzling spring hue, I remember Frost’s words regarding the inevitable: time sweeps everything along its path. Yes, beauty fades. Things once lustrous and new become simply present — if you let them, that is. While dawn does turn to day and leaves once fresh grow hardened and dark, who says the mid-day sun and broad, common leaves aren’t worthy of praise? One warms us while the other cools us, after all. Although I hurry to enjoy nature’s first green, I remind myself that the moments we spend in admiration of the world around us are just as golden. I tell myself to enjoy what is to come just as much as what is already here.

My hope for you is that you take the time to acknowledge such a moment in the coming days. Thank you for making my life better, spring green.

Mindfully yours, Travis.

Travis Moak is a Madison County educator and contributor to The Madison County Journal.