At the Dichee Orphanage Just Outside of Llasa, Tibet

Little Andu with smile so wide,
ruddy cheeks hint of a happy child,
but your dark almond eyes own a sorrow
no child should understand.

Count to ten on fingers
bitten to the quick;
recite your ABC’s;
lead me by a tiny hand
to the musky sweet kitchen
rice boiling on the black wood stove.

Take me to the room filled
with rows of metal beds;
your own shared with yet another
lice-infected, head-shorn little girl.

You stand tall against the yardstick, taped
to the rough wood door.
Your shaved scalp tickles my hand
as I measure, announce, "thirty-five inches,”
and silently add of pure humanity.

Your tiny hands pull on my arm
and at my heart
toward a rusty cage that holds
a mangy black dog big enough to ride.

Pulled by the fear of failure,
pushed by a need to please,
you whisper a single English word – “dog,”
peek up from the corner of your slant eyes,
hope for words of praise from this
pale skinned grandmother of another world.

Little Andu, your arms squeezed around
my neck when time to say good-bye.
Your rough head prickled my chest, burned
a little girl-sized hole that lingers today
as I remember…..

Little Andu with smile so wide,
ruddy cheeks hint of a happy child,
but your dark almond eyes hold a sorrow
no child should understand

Celebrate National Nurses Week with Nancy Harless, author of Womankind

Nancy Harless a retired nurse practitioner from Wever, Iowa, has authored a collection of twenty-one short stories titled, Womankind: Connection and Wisdom around the World.Harless first began traveling around the world as a nurse, always on a shoestring, because she enjoys it. In her book Womankind, Harless retains an innocent writer’s voice. She reveals a facet of her own good will in the light of each story. Even in dire circumstances, Harless finds her own hope at the bottom of the proverbial box of chaos. She provides readers with an orderly, digestible view of the world’ differences through her lens of tolerance for now and hope for later.

********** Des Moines Public Library flyer **************

Nancy Leigh Harless coming to San Miguel de Allende in September

Nancy Leigh Harless is an award winning poet and writer. Her works have been included in many antholgies including Cup of Comfort, The Healing Project, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Travelers Tales, as well as many professional and literary journals
A retired nurse practitioner, Nancy travels often -- usually off the well-paved road. Throughout her travels she has seen women struggle, sometimes against daunting odds. She has seen them nearly break under the weight of their own lives. She also has felt an abundance of spirit, of wisdom and of connection with these same women -- ordinary women who live with extraordinary grace.
What she has come to know for sure is the message of her first book, Womankind: Connection & Wisdom Around the World, a collection of stories gleaned from her international nursing experiences and travels.
Join us at The author's Sala on September 12th in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico this a celebration of Womankind.