"Winter Visit" by Patricia Kirkpatrick

This poem came from Patricia Kirkpatrick on December 24th:

WINTER VISIT
-after Hsiang Hung (1940-)

My head is white, my hair
cut short now.
When I look in the mirror
I hardly know who I am.
But that has been true for some time
even before I was sick.
I know you came to visit.
I don't remember what we said.
"Fresh flowers," you noticed
when I brought tea to the table.
I was happy the whole time you were here.
When you left,
I held the door open,
winter moon lighting snow
as you went.
Spring will come.
I don't know if you'll visit again.
On my desk for days
I've left the cup of oolong
your lips touched.

"Winter Visit" was also posted on Flurry, edited by Todd Boss. Patricia is author of Century's Road, published by Holy Cow! Press, and is poetry editor for Water-Stone Review. She teaches in the MFA program at Hamline University.

When we were both writing poetry in our early 2os, I met Patricia through poet Jim Moore. I still recall having tea one day at her apartment in St. Paul. It was very nice to get this winter visit, on Christmas Eve, many years later.