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A light exists in Spring Not present on the year At any other period. When March is scarcely here A color stands abroad On solitary hills That science cannot overtake, But human nature feels. It waits upon the lawn; It shows the furthest tree Upon the furthest slope we know; It almost speaks to me. Then, as horizons step, Or noons report away, Without the formula of sound, It passes, and we stay: A quality of loss Affecting our content, As trade had suddenly encroached Upon a sacrament.
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Confirmed with Poems by Emily Dickinson. Third Series, ed by Mabel Loomis Todd, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1896.
Text Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems: Third Series, in 3. Nature, no. 3, first published 1896 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ronald A. Beckett , "Spring: A light exists in spring", 2006 [ voice and piano ], from The Seasons: Four Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Layton Kent (b. 1916), "A light exists in Spring", published 1971 [ SSA chorus or TTBB chorus a cappella ], from Spring Songs [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Esiste una luce in primavera", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 89
Esiste una luce in primavera che l'anno non conosce in ogni altra stagione. Quando è appena arrivato marzo c'è un colore all'aperto su solitarie colline che la scienza non coglie ma che l'umana natura avverte. Sta in attesa sul prato; rivela l'albero più remoto sul più remoto pendio che conosci; e quasi ti parla. Poi, quando avanzano gli orizzonti, o i meriggi si annunciano intensi, senza formalità di suono, svanisce, e noi rimaniamo: una sensazione di perdita intacca la nostra esultanza, come un vile commercio che, all'improvviso, contamini un Sacramento.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2009 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems: Third Series, in 3. Nature, no. 3, first published 1896
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-19
Line count: 20
Word count: 90