First Blush, Last Breath

The Colors Within

Robert Frost reminds us that “nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold.” (You can read the whole poem here.) And he certainly is correct about the fleeting though exquisite beauty of those newly-emerged leaves. They can light up a whole landscape with their reds and yellows.

But Frost knew trees. He maintained an apple orchard, wrote about his Christmas tree farm, and cared for birches. So he must have known that the gold in a leaf’s first blush only seems to disappear once it develops the chlorophyll it needs to feed the tree. The color is still there. We just can’t see it.

Once the shorter day length and cooler temperatures of fall cause the production of chlorophyll to end, those colors come through once more. A brilliant tree-full of golden leaves, whether in spring or fall, these are their true colors. From the leaf’s first blush to its last breath, the color is always there.

So here’s to first blushes and last breaths, and the true colors deep within all of us.

https://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/why_do_leaves_in_spring_sometimes_appear_more_red_than_green