It was December of 2022, and I was invited down to Natchez, Mississippi to sing at a Catholic church with some friends for Christmas. I was one semester into my master’s degree at Texas Tech University, and because that transition period, composition took a back seat. I had not written much if not anything at all that fall, so while I was in this small town in Mississippi, I worked on an extremely out of tune piano in the basement of the rectory during any moment of free time. I opened my database of favorite poems, and I chose one of the shorter ones: “Nothing Gold Can Stay“ by Robert Frost. It had recently reached freezing temperatures and the trees were all barren, so I found this text fitting for my surroundings.

Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is a short poem about the transient and fleeting nature of life. Using images of the natural world and the changing seasons, Frost explains that beauty and youth cannot last forever. Additionally, Frost references Eden in his poem, a symbol of innocence, purity, and beauty. Full of simpler textures and beautiful harmonies, the music brings about a somber mood and depicts this fading landscape.