The Silent Dance of Snow

By Irene Lok

Awakened in the hush of night,
By tapping sounds, so soft, so light.
Rain, or snow, I wonder, near—
What calls me forth, so faint, so clear?

Beside the pane, my gaze extends,
The Front Court veiled as midnight bends.
A silken white, a fleeting guise,
Like dhyana, a pure mind, as it softly lies.

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.

Lanterns glimmer, waters gleam,
A world adrift in a fragile dream.
On the glass, faint drops remain,
Echoes of a past refrain.

Returning to the bed once more,
To seek the sleep I knew before.
A sound, full of silence, no stir,
The world, seems now to defer—
A moment stilled, profoundly bare,
Tranquility hangs in the air.

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.

Again, I turn to the window wide,
Snow descends, a mystic tide.
Like petals, or powder; or threads of lace,
Like dusts, or dews; all fall in silence, soft embrace.
Each flake dissolves as soon as kissed,
Whispering truths of what persists:
“All things must change; naught can stay—
Eternal flows the fleeting day.”

As snow, so pure, so bright and clear,
As night, profound, serene, sincere.
The earth and sky, in silent grace,
Return to stillness, time’s embrace.

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.

While others sleep, I stand alone,
Watch the silence dance of snow, to the unknown.

Note: Recorded on the first sight of snowfall at Robinson College, midnight on 5th January 2025.

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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