[Poem] WELCOMING THE NEW SPRING (WHEN THE LANTERN FESTIVAL BEGINS) - A Brief Look at Festive Longing amid Spring’s Start

Although no historically documented poem titled “迎新春(上元启节)” by Liu Yong survives in standard anthologies, the lines above reflect how he might have approached the theme of the Lantern Festival (上元节) and early spring. During the Northern Song Dynasty, city streets came alive with bright lanterns, music, and revelry as the new year progressed. Poets often used such celebrations to underscore the contrast between outward festivity and inward longing.

In this creative reconstruction:

1. **Urban Festivity vs. Personal Solitude**
- The first stanza evokes a bustling city night, with lanterns likened to stars and lively crowds filling the streets. Yet, despite this outward joy, the poet feels a pang of loneliness—someone he once walked beside is no longer present.

2. **Visual and Sensory Imagery**
- References to “画烛摇红” (painted candles flickering red) and “华灯错落” (glittering lanterns strewn about) create a kaleidoscopic sense of color and movement. Meanwhile, “天街渐暖” (the slowly warming heavenly avenue) reminds us that spring is imminent, though the chill lingers in the poet’s heart.

3. **Understated Melancholy**
- Consistent with Liu Yong’s style, the poet interweaves joyful surroundings with an undertone of regret, meditating on absent friends and severed communication. The mention of “锦字曾传” (exchanging letters in fine silk) references a once-intimate bond now broken by time or distance.

4. **Seasonal Themes**
- The poem nods to both winter’s receding snows and early spring’s promise, symbolizing renewal. Yet this renewal remains incomplete for the poet, whose emotional life is still mired in remembrance.

Ultimately, this piece illustrates how a festival—usually brimming with cheer—can become a mirror revealing the poet’s unresolved yearnings. The lively lantern scene amplifies what is missing: the companionship and warmth of a dear friend. Such thematic tension is central to many Song ci poems, where gentle outward beauty intensifies an inner ache for reunion.