A simple method for calculating the asymptotic D state observables for light nuclei is suggested. The method exploits the dominant clusters of the light nuclei.The method is applied to calculate the 4 He asymptotic D to S normalization ratio ρ α and the closely related D state parameter D α 2 . The study predicts a correlation between D α 2 and B α , and between ρ α and B α , where B α is the binding energy of 4 He. The present study yields ρ α ≃ −0.14 and D α 2 ≃ −0.12 fm 2 consistent with the correct experimental η D and the binding energies of the deuteron, triton, and the α particle, where η d is the deuteron D state to S state normalization ratio.