I
When midnight spills its scarlet light,
The old year folds its wings in flight;
Drums awaken sleeping skies,
And paper dragons start to rise.
II
Lantern moons in silk suspend,
Each flame a wish the stars will send;
Gold-brushed doors and crimson thread
Invite new fortune softly spread.
III
Children laugh with pockets wide,
For luck in envelopes to hide;
While elders bow to time’s long stream,
And pour the past like fading dream.
IV
The lion leaps through smoke and sound,
Its emerald eyes scan sacred ground;
With every step, with every beat,
It chases shadows from the street.
V
Fireworks bloom like cosmic flowers,
Brief constellations born of hours;
Their thunder writes across the night
A promise sealed in sparks of light.
VI
And as the dawn paints roofs in jade,
Fresh vows within the heart are made
—That hope, like spring, will always start
A quiet new year in the heart.
VII
Red lanterns rising,
Drums wake the sleeping new year
—Spring smiles in fire.