I was 10 years old when the Outsiders was released to VHS. As an overly emotional pre-teen girl, I pressed my nose to the tv screen and watched it over and over and over until I knew every line by heart. I cried each time Johnny died and I held my breath each time Ponyboy read “Nothing Gold Can Stay”.
That poem spoke to me. I rewound the tape to listen again and again. It touched my heart and awoke a love of poetry that has never died. I recited the poem to everyone I knew and was so excited to find out that it was written by Robert Frost. Imagine my surprise when my English class studied “Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening”. I found out that my favorite poet had so much more to offer.
I quickly became consumed with all things Frost, and my parents surprised me with a compilation book of his poetry. I still have that book, and now I share my favorites with my children.
Nothing Gold Can Stay is still tops on my list, but Robert Frost has created so much beautiful and thoughtful poetry. A few others to read and consider are: Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Design (another of my favs!), Mending Wall, and The Pasture. These are only a few… there are so so so many others.
Who are the poets or writers who touched your life? Can you remember that first moment when a beautifully written word took your breath away? Please share. 
For those who aren’t familiar with the poem, or for those who just want to relive its beauty, here it is:
мебели софияNothing Gold Can Stay
by: Robert FrostNature’s first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold
Her early leaf’s a flower
But only so an hourThen leaf subsides to leaf
So Eden sank to grief
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay
Flash fiction is a fiction story that is under 1000 words. You will be seeing more flash fiction up on this site, as I have joined a Flash Fiction Carnival. Each month we get a theme, and have 5 days to write and edit a story. February’s theme was “Blues”. Here is my take on that theme:
A sharp rap sounded on the door, followed by the gruff voice of Frank Mulrooney.
“Get up. Leaving in 5 minutes, whether you’re dressed or not.”
Liza groaned and buried her head under the pillow. Frank pushed the weathered door inward and entered the room.
After 65 years of living on the ocean, Frank’s face was a mess of wrinkles and leathery skin. What little hair he had left was slicked straight back away from his face, and his clothes hung loosely on his lanky frame. Liza rolled to the edge of the bed and stared mutinously into his hard eyes.
In one smooth motion, Frank reached out, grasped her hand, and pulled her from the bed.
“You been sulking since you got here. Ain’t no good gonna come from that. I’m taking you out in the Seadog. Get ready.”
He strode from the room and within minutes Liza heard the roar of Seadog’s engine.
“Crazy old coot,” she muttered, as she slipped into a ratty shirt.
The mid-day sun beat down on the deck of the boat as Frank maneuvered out of the slip. Once free of the marina, he revved the engine and brought the small boat up on plane.
Liza stood, bending her knees slightly to absorb the jarring rhythm of the waves. The ocean spray coated her face, leaving a gritty residue of salt.
“Damn it, Frank, why can’t you leave me alone. A stupid boat trip isn’t going to solve my problems. Where the hell are we going, anyway?”
If he heard, Frank gave no indication. He merely turned the wheel and continued on his course.
Liza stared toward the horizon, lost in the way the sun glinted off the choppy water. Forty minutes later, she was jolted awake by the sudden silence of the motor.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Here” Frank grunted.
Liza rolled her eyes. “Thanks Einstein. Where is here?”
“Middle of nowhere, by the looks of it. I call it the Deep Blue. Ain’t nothing below us but about 1500 feet of ocean. Now, jump in.”
“What?! I don’t think so. I can’t even see land from here. And I’m not wearing a swimsuit. And there are probably sharks in there.”
Frank gave a wicked grin. “Damn right there’s sharks down there. But don’t you worry. You ain’t nearly important enough for them to mess with. Besides, your prissy ass’d probally give ‘em a bellyache.”
He barked a quick laugh as he moved toward her. Without breaking momentum, he swung her up into his arms and released her over the side of the boat.
A shock of cool water closed over Liza’s head and her legs instinctively began to kick. When she broke the surface again, she screamed obscenities between coughing fits.
Frank looked down at her, holding the ladder and laughing.
“You ain’t coming back up here till you figure some stuff out. You go float around a bit an’ think …that is what ya said ya needed.” He plopped himself onto the captain’s chair and closed his eyes, intent on ignoring Liza’s protests.
Resigned, Liza floated further away from the boat. She stretched out on her back, gently sculling the water with her hands. The sky was painfully blue and monotonous. There were no puffy clouds and no airplanes. Even the birds refused to venture this far from land. There was only endless sky and blinding sun.
Liza flipped to her stomach and took a deep breath. She submerged her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw nothing. The deep water was empty, void of all life. There were no fishes, and certainly no sharks. There was no hint that an entire world lived beneath her.
She popped her head up and took another breath. This time, Liza dove down as deeply as she could. The water got darker and cooler, but there was still no life. She flipped around, ready to kick for the surface, but stopped short. Her eyes rounded in surprise.
The sun, which had been blindingly brilliant above water, was now muted and softened. It twinkled, sending beams of light down to play in the swell of the ocean waves. Caught in the bands of light, Liza could see tiny particles swirling and spinning, like a smooth ballet set to nature’s choreography.
Liza kicked her legs and broke the surface. “I’m coming in, Frank”.
He stood at the top of the ladder, hand extended to help her up.
Liza smiled. “I had no idea the ocean was so big, or that I was so small.”
Frank nodded, but remained silent.
“And you know what else? I’m looking at my problems the wrong way round. If I’m such a small part of this big world, then my problems are too. I don’t have the power to change the depth of the ocean or the blueness of the sky. I can only change me.”
Frank nodded again, then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Deep Blue will do that to ya. Come on. Let’s head back to port. I’m starved.”
I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do. I’ve watched/listened about 4 times now.. and enjoy it more every time I watch it.
I have to give a quick “shout out” to So This for introducing me to Sister Salad.
Enjoy!
Well, it is that time again… another Blog Chain entry.
In this chain, Ralph Pines started us off with his take on love vs romance and how he hates romantic tension in sitcoms. Ralph passed the torch to SouthAsiaBlog, who related it back to characters from two books and a movie. Now, it is my turn.
Each person views love and romance differently. To me, romance is a moment in time - a candle-light dinner, that first magical kiss, those head-swimming moments when time stands still. A couple can not survive on strictly romance. It is a thin layer of gloss, used only to make things shiny and pretty. There is no substance to romance, only glitz.
Romance isn’t about the person within, the living breathing human with feelings and ideals. It is our mating call or courtship ritual. We use rosy colors and infectious laughs to call our mates, then blind them with romance. We ensnare them in a web of pretties, biding enough time for love to take root.
Love, on the other hand, is lasting and deep. Love allows for disagreements and arguments, for the age-old better and worse. Love is what sustains a relationship through to the twilight years, when body parts sag and wrinkles come home to roost. Love is the truth and the realness of life during all of its ups and downs. Love is solid, and often messy.
Romance and love can coexist, but they don’t have to. When the bloom of romance fades, a relationship can only continue if there is love.
I think of love and romance as an orange. The shiny peel (romance) is only a covering for the tasty flesh it holds (love). For lasting nourishment, you must peal away the romance and feast on sweetness of love inside.
And now I realize that is a double entendre. I could go back and delete it.. but I think I’ll leave it and see what Ben Solah has to say.
Please visit all of the participants in the blog chain. Don’t forget to start at the beginning.
Razibahmed
Kat Frass
bsolah
AmyDoodle
FreshHell
escritora
ChaosTitan
Cathy C
harri3tspy
truelyana
tatkinson