Miss Lillian Sees Leprosy for the First Time

Miss Lillian Sees Leprosy for the First Time
by Jimmy Carter

When I nursed in a clinic
near Bombay,
a small girl, shielding
all her leprous sores,
crept inside the door.
I moved away,
But then the doctor called,
"You take this case!"
First I found a mask,
and put it on,
quickly gave the child
a shot and then, not well,
and scrubbed my entire body red and raw.

I faced her treatment every week with dread and loathing
-of the chore, not the child.
As time passed, I was less afraid and managed not to
turn my face away.
Her spirit bloomed as sores began to fade.
She`d raise her anxious
searching eyes to mine
to show she trusted me.
We`d smile and say
a few Marathi words,
and then reach and
hold each other`s hands.
And then love grew between
us, so that, later
when I kissed her lips
I didn`t feel unclean.

Jimmy Carter

President Carter`s mother, Lillian, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in India from 1967-1969. Copied from Peace Corps The Great Adventure, Washington, D.C., 5.

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