Which of the following best identifies a theme of the text? Nature's first green is gold, 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.

D. The most beautiful moments of life are brief.

Explanation:

The poem talks about a place called eden which is mentioned in the bible as a place of peace and love however it ended quickly becuase nothing good in life is forever. This poem is mentioned by Ponyboy in the outsiders novel because he came to realize the moral, nothing good is ever going to last unless you make new moments.

The subject of the poem is life. When you look at it in depth, its entirety is a metaphor for the passing of life. Nature's first green is gold (the birth of a child, or new life), her hardest hue to hold (innocence passes fast with life, no matter how hard we try to hold on to it). Her early leaf's a flower; but only so an hour (again with the quick passing of time for life.) The leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief (death at the end of someone's life and the mourning that comes with it, if only a second to the hour of life), so dawn goes down to day (mourning is over, and the days continue after that someone passes and everyone has mourned). Nothing gold can stay (life is valuable, like gold, and vanishes much in the same way).