Final answer:
In Robert Frost's 'Nothing Gold Can Stay,' the color gold symbolizes purity and beauty, reflecting the transient and precious moments of early beauty and innocence that are fleeting.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost, the color gold most likely represents purity and beauty. The poem speaks to the ephemeral nature of early beauty and innocence, using the metaphor of the early leaves that are like flowers but which cannot stay because they eventually change and wither. Therefore, gold symbolizes the transient, precious moments that are beautiful because they are fleeting. It does not primarily reference wealth and riches, warmth and kindness, or strength and power, which are more straightforward and tangible attributes than the abstract qualities of beauty and purity conveyed in the poem.