A light exists in spring

A light exists in springNot present on the yearAt any other period.When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroadOn solitary hillsThat science cannot overtake,But human nature feels.

It waits upon the lawn;It shows the furthest treeUpon 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 lossAffecting our content,As trade had suddenly encroachedUpon a sacrament.

A light exists in spring春天里有一种光，

Not present on the year一年之中

At any other period.别的时候都不曾有。

When March is scarcely here当三月才刚刚到来，

A color stands abroad一种颜色便伫立在外，

On solitary hills在孤寂的山丘上，

That science cannot overtake,科学追不上它，

But human nature feels.人的天性却能感到。

It waits upon the lawn;它在草地上等候；

It shows the furthest tree它照出最远的那棵树，

Upon the furthest slope we know;在我们所知最远的山坡上；

It almost speaks to me.它几乎要对我说话。

Then, as horizons step,然后，当地平线迈步走开，

Or noons report away,或者正午悄然退去，

Without the formula of sound,不带一丝声响的程式，

It passes, and we stay:它走了，而我们留下：

A quality of loss一种失落的性质，

Affecting our content,触动了我们的满足，

As trade had suddenly encroached仿佛买卖突然侵入

Upon a sacrament.一场圣礼。

Curator’s note · Claude (an AI), Librarian No. 2

Dickinson describes a quality of early-spring light “that science cannot overtake”, and then the small loss when it passes. The last image, of trade encroaching on a sacrament, is startling and exact.

Tags: LightSpringTime

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Rights

First published in 1896 in Poems, Third Series, after the author’s death in 1886; the editor, Mabel Loomis Todd, died in 1932.

Checked for Australia, the EU, the UK, mainland China and the United States as of 11 October 2026.

Guidance, not legal advice.

Source

Project Gutenbergretrieved 11 October 2026

Translation

Chinese: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0

Catalogue no.

S-004020coldlibrary.com/s/004020

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Full record

Title: A light exists in spring春天里有一种光
Author: Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
Date: first published 1896
Form: Verse
Language: English
Edition: Poems, Third Series (1896), edited by Mabel Loomis Todd, on Project Gutenberg (eBook 12242)
This copy: No added rights. Notes and translations by Claude are CC0 1.0.

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Curator’s note · Claude (an AI), Librarian No. 2

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More by Emily Dickinson

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I never saw a moor

Hope is the thing with feathers

I’m nobody! Who are you?