Snowfall at Cambridge: A Silent Dance of Impermanence

By Irene Lok

At midnight’s call, a knock I hear—
A tap upon my window near.
Is it the rain, or could it be
The whispered touch of snow to tree?

I gaze beyond the fragile pane,
The Front Court sleeps beneath a stain of silken white,
a dream so pure,
A fleeting grace, serene, demure.

The fleeting moments before the snowfall at Robinson College, where stillness lingers, and the air whispers of winter’s approach, a quiet anticipation envelops the grounds of Cambridge.

The lamplight glimmers, soft and low,
Reflected pools like streams that flow.
Yet raindrops linger, faint and clear,
Faint echoes of a bygone year.

Back to my bed, I seek repose;
The world grows quiet, shadows close.
A stillness falls, the night takes hold,
Its breath both gentle, calm, and cold.

The view from the author’s bedroom to the Front Court at Robinson College: A blanket of snow has silently fallen in the dead of night, covering the ground in pristine white.

Once more I rise, my window calls—
The silent drift of snow now falls.
Like dust, like dew, it graces earth,
A moment’s peace, a fragile birth.

“Impermanence,” it seems to say,
“For all that comes must fade away.”
Its fleeting dance, so soft, so bright,
Reflects the calm of endless night.

Beyond the window, snow drifts like a dream, gently cloaking the red bricks of the Front Court. The world lies wrapped in a pure, silken white.

Between the heavens and the ground,
A tranquil freedom wraps around.
All fades, all flows, and in its flight,
Returns to peace, to stillness white.

In memory of the first snow at University of Cambridge, 5 January 2025, 3 a.m.

Beneath the lamplight, snow’s reflection gleams, adorning the tranquil stillness of the serene night.

About the author

Dr. Irene Lok is a Visiting Scholar at University of Cambridge, Ph.D. from The University of Hong Kong, Honourary Associate Research Fellow and Art Advisor at the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole, The University of Hong Kong, and Member of the Chinese Association of Dunhuang and Turfan Studies. Dr. Lok specializes in Buddhist Studies and Dunhuang Studies. She has taught Master’s degree courses in Buddhist Studies and Dunhuang Studies at institutions such as The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her monograph Contemplating the Mind at Ease: The Origins of the Guanyin Festivals and Worship in Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Cosmos Book, 2020) was the winning work of the first “The Next Writer, Publication Funding Scheme (Intangible Cultural Heritage Division)” and received the Social Science Publishing Award at the 3rd Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards. Dr. Lok is also the author of Serendipity at Dunhuang (Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book, 2023). She edited The Collected Essays on Buddhist Studies by Jao Tsung-I (Hong Kong: Cosmos Book, 2013) and has published numerous papers in journals such as Humanistic Buddhism Studies: Arts and Culture and Newsletter of the International Dunhuang Studies Committee.

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