During this period of COVID-19, Moran Engadine resident Linda Swords has struggled with the fear of the term ‘lockdown’. She fears the unknown, what will happen to her and what this will bring to her grandchildren? She put her thoughts into a beautiful poem about these uncertain times (see below).
Linda Swords came to Australia in 1966 as an exchange student from the Philippines. She attended Sydney Uni as part of an English teaching program, gaining a Master of Education and went on to teach for 26 years.
Linda met her husband Ian a week after she arrived in Australia through a fellow exchange student who had come to Australia previously. They married in 1967. Linda and Ian travelled back to the Philippines so she could teach for a year then came back to Australia to settle permanently.
Ian Swords served as a Councillor at Sutherland Shire Council from 1977 to 1995. During that time he was also Council President and Mayor. Linda and Ian had two children, Raymond and Rani and 3 grandchildren.
Linda has always loved to learn, write and paint. It wasn’t until she retired that she began to really start to explore her love of painting. She took up adult learning classes to try new things such as learning French, poetry writing and painting and really enjoyed it. She started to discover new things about herself and believes it is important, especially as you get older. Linda came to Moran Engadine last year for respite. In time, she has made friends here and loves taking part in arts and crafts especially painting. She has started laminating some of her craft activities so she can pass them on to her grandchildren. Though her grandchildren may not appreciate these now, she feels it’s important to document a part of her recent life and to make memories for her grandchildren.
(an excerpt from a poem written by Moran Engadine resident, Linda Swords)
Something suddenly came into town –
An uncommon thing now known as lockdown.
It came a product of something first unknown,
Unseen; yet fierce and full of power,
It walks through streets, and we all cower.
. . .
We are distanced, but we are closer than ever.
The core of what a family is is what we discover.
Togetherness in ISO is acknowledgement,
Respect and acceptance of what is there.
I know you better, even in not too many words,
Your smile, not too rare anymore, can say it all.
There is more laughter, a sign of healthy joy;
No longer is it only a hurried chuckle,
Nor a change in step like a mere shuffle,
More time is given, more time is taken;
The evening glow comes, and we’re still together,
Day is done, but not the fun, as we await the rising of the sun.
. . .
After Corona’s gone, we learn that there’s much
We can live without, we can live not in excess,
we can live without being too depressed;
We are not alone, we remember others too,
Together we are one, we struggle around,
The little joys we lost, now again we’ve found.