When the Time Comes

By Helen Swain

'Never read a verse novel? Here's a beauty. The world Helen Swain creates rings true from the very first page, as she explores the complexities of a carer's life with brevity, honesty, and wry wit. Helen brilliantly evokes the tensions between an ageing mother and a daughter who wants to care for her When the time comes. This book is an act of p

• Language: English
• Publisher: Debbie Lee
• Release date: Dec 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781761094491

Helen Swain

Helen Swain currently lives and works in lutruwita/Tasmania on the foothills of kunanyi/Mt Wellington. Helen grew up in western Victoria, worked as a nurse in northern South Australia, raised her children in Tasmania and when they left home, followed them to NSW and spent ten years in Wollongong before grandchildren and country called her back to Tasmania. Helen has been a performer in Theatre in Education, worked as a secondary English/Drama teacher, worked in Community Theatre and as an English as Another Language teacher. In retirement she has found time to indulge her love of poetry, writing, and performance.

Book preview

When the Time Comes

WHEN THE TIME COMES

HELEN SWAIN

Ginninderra Press

When the Time Comes

ISBN 978 1 76109 449 1

Copyright © text Helen Swain 2022

Cover image: Diana Mills

All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be sent to the publisher at the address below.

First published 2022 by

Ginninderra Press

PO Box 3461 Port Adelaide 5015

www.ginninderrapress.com.au

CONTENTS

When the Time Comes

Acknowledgements

Dedicated to all the unseen, unheard and uncomplaining carers of those in need.

WHEN THE TIME COMES

Family

Like possums

we are a small private family

not prone to sing

or invite others in.

We keep our distance

from you

and from each other.

My father

He didn’t ask me.

He said, between breaths

and that made a difference

the between breaths

you

look after

your Mum

Clare.

He didn’t say Clare

but it’s what he meant

he meant me.

Knowing this conversation

is likely the last

you listen with everything

attend as if these words

are holy

a message

from the other side.

My mother

When Dad got sick

Mum had a sudden thought

I don’t want to be a burden

she told me

when the time comes

just put me out of my misery

This request

for either more love

or less life

came with no instructions.

At the time

I was not worried

by words without substance.

Me

At the moment I am between dogs

but after 53 years of working life

I am ready to set up my own kennels

with a ‘Dogs First’ slogan.

I think of how aggressive dogs

respond to massage, love, stability.

I fan my intentions each night

me, my real self, making a difference.

I’ll start with used greyhounds.

If Mum needs looking after

she can go into a home.

I’d be no good at it, I couldn’t do it.

I am not thinking of looking after my