There's a certain slant of light, On winter afternoons, That oppresses, like the weight Of cathedral tunes. Heavenly hurt it gives us; We can find no scar, But internal difference Where the meanings are. None may teach it anything, 'T is the seal, despair, - An imperial affliction Sent us of the air. When it comes, the landscape listens, Shadows hold their breath; When it goes, 't is like the distance On the look of death.
The Seasons: Four Poems of Emily Dickinson
Song Cycle by Ronald A. Beckett
1. Winter: There’s a certain slant of light  [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems of Emily Dickinson, first published 1890
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , no title, copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
2. Spring: A light exists in spring  [sung text not yet checked]
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.
Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, first published 1896
See other settings of this text.
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
3. Summer: It will be Summer ‑ eventually  [sung text not yet checked]
It will be Summer, eventually. Ladies - with parasols - Sauntering Gentlemen - with Canes - And little Girls - with Dolls - Will tint the pallid landscape - As 'twere a bright Bouquet - Tho' drifted deep, in Parian - The Village lies - today - The Lilacs - bending many a year - Will sway with purple load - The Bees - will not despise the tune - Their Forefathers - have hummed - The Wild Rose - redden in the Bog - The Aster - on the Hill Her everlasting fashion - set - And Covenant Gentians - frill - Till Summer folds her miracle - As Women - do - their Gown - Or Priests - adjust the Symbols - When Sacrament - is done -
Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Further poems of Emily Dickinson
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]4. Autumn: Besides the autumn poets sing  [sung text not yet checked]
Besides the autumn poets sing, A few prosaic days A little this side of the snow And that side of the haze. A few incisive mornings, A few ascetic eves, — Gone Mr. Bryant’s golden-rod, And Mr. Thomson’s sheaves. Still is the bustle in the brook, Sealed are the spicy valves; Mesmeric fingers softly touch The eyes of many elves. Perhaps a squirrel may remain, My sentiments to share. Grant me, O Lord, a sunny mind, Thy windy will to bear!
Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title
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Confirmed with Dickinson, Emily, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, Boston: Little, Brown, 1924, Bartleby.com, 2000. www.bartleby.com/113/2049.html.Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]