ature, is the central theme in Frost’s nature poetry” (145-6). Lynen specifically relates the poem to the loss of childhood. “The loss of beauty in the leaf is likened to the loss of innocence in Eden” (Lynen 153). Lynen also connects the line, “So dawn goes down today” as a reference to the time between dawn and sunset, as the established symbol of a mans life span. In doing so, he feels there is a connection to the loss as you develop from childhood to maturity (153). Another spin on Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” is its use in the novel The Outsiders. A friend Johnny uses the poem to describe to his friend Ponyboy that how he loves a sunset is gold or pure. Ponyboy later uses the poem that his friend told him, to understand the differences between social standings. He wants to be with a rich girl named Cherry, but knowing that he is a “greaser” comes to the understanding that they can never be together. He asks her if she can see the sunset from her side of town as well as he can. They use nature to hold a connection between them. Again, Frost’s poem connects man to nature. Poetry is a subject very often debated. Robert Frost was known mostly as a nature poet. Although his poems do refer to nature, in poetry there can sometimes be a Smith 3point that is overlooked. Using “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” there is an obvious connection between man and nature. The Outsiders used the poem to connect two different people, Lynen believes the poem signifies mans loss of innocence, and it could also simply represent a loss of any kind. One thing is certain, all three ideas have one common theme, mans connection to nature. Most poems are interpreted in many ways, and Frost thrived on that. Typical of Frost, he often quoted “The unsaid part is the best part.” ...
