Lyric Poem · Nature

Nothing Gold Can Stay

by Robert Frost · 1923

Reading room

1Nature's first green is gold,

2Her hardest hue to hold.

3Her early leaf's a flower;

4But only so an hour.

5Then leaf subsides to leaf.

6So Eden sank to grief,

7So dawn goes down to day.

8Nothing gold can stay.

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“Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost — quilloak.com/poems/nothing-gold-can-stay

Quick facts

Poem: Nothing Gold Can Stay
Poet: Robert Frost
Published: 1923
Length: 8 lines
Form: Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes: Nature, Life, Short

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 8 lines · one 8-line stanza
End rhyme: AABBCCDD.
Line length: Lines run 5-7 syllables (median 6), consistent with trimeter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Robert Frost1874–1963
Source record: WikisourceNothing Gold Can Stay by robert-frost, Wikisource transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: 1923
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 246c6bef1e14e0f2…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Short Poems Nature Life Short

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