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I. OPINION
  1. Staff Profiles

  2. Letters to Lao Vision
II. EDUCATION
  1. Considering Graduate School?
    2. by Douangchit Mounghane
  2. The Reward

    3. by Douangdeuane Douangdara
  3. Who Are the Lao?

    4. by Douangdeuane Douangdara
  4. Lao Geography

    5. by Douangdeuane Douangdara
III. CULTURE
  1. Lao Weddings

    2. by Montha Phavongxay
  2. Will You Not Miss Us?

    3. by Check Kirivong
  3. Lao New Year
    ປີໃຫມ່ລາວ
    (Lao & Eng.)
    by Douangdeuane Douangdara

  4. Growing Up Lao in America

    5. by Douangchit Mounghane
IV. FEATURE
  1. Who Makes Your Decisions?

    2. by Anonymous
  2. Colors in Between

    3. by Von PhrakonKham
  3. Interracial Relationships

    4. by Check Kirivong
  4. Children of War

    5. by Douangdeuane Douangdara
  5. You Ask Me Why

    6. by Von PhrakonKham
V. LITERATURE
  1. ຮີດ ສິບສອງ

    2. by Douangdeuane Douangdara
  2. Five Minutes

    3. by Von PhrakonKham
  3. Maa Thao

    4. by Von PhrakonKham
  4. ເລືອດລາວ

    5. by Douangdeuane Douangdara
  5. When Your Timing Is Ripe

    6. by Sounantha Phoumarath
VI. PROFILE
  1. Steve's Interview

    2. by Von PhrakonKham
VII. HEALTH
  1. Tobacco and Our Health

    2. by Douangchit Mounghane
VIII. RICE AND JAEW
  1. Recipes

    2. by Montha Phavongxay
  2. ສີ່ງທີ່ຄວນຄິດ
    by Sounantha Phoumarath

  3. Growing Up in the Eighties

    4. by Douangchit Mounghane
  4. Marriage: On Love Alone?
    by Sounantha Phoumarath


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Maa Thao (Grandmother)
By Von Phrakonkham

She sits there, so quietly, so calm
Staring into the morning mist
That covered her beautiful vegetation she produced
Not on a chair, but on an old wooden spool
Her back slightly arched
And her eyes see what we cannot
Cool gentle breezes blow her hair across her face
But silently she remains
Not blinking or moving it aside
Her hands rest on her knees
As she listens to nature's hidden voices
Singing the songs of the earth
Inside, her thoughts run deeper
Her mind wanders further
Of the love she has for her homeland
How she misses it so dearly
Such destruction caused by a needless war
But it's ok
Not all is lost
And this replicated version is just fine

Heat from the morning sun rises
Rays of sunlight rush to her face
Behind her, a transparent shadow is cast
Shading the trail of busy ants
Her silhouetted face shows
The morning mist left behind in her wrinkles
It glimmers like thousands of tiny crystals
Soon, the sun fully gives light to her path,
She rises up,
And gracefully walks toward the greenery
With both hands behind her back,
She disappears into the garden
Carrying with her all of yesterday's memories,
And leaving her treasured aura behind.
Who was that woman?
Nearby neighbors call her The Garden Lady
Those who admired her, loved her
Call her mother, called her grandmother
But to me,
She will always be known as Maa Thao.
 
 

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