Dr Greta Sykes – The sharp truth

Greta Sykes LE P&W April 2019

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The sharp truth, poems by Dr Greta Sykes

Poet, writer and artist Greta Sykes has published her work in many anthologies. She is a member of London Voices Poetry Group and also produces art work for them. Her new volume of poetry called ‘The Shipping News and Other Poems’ came out in August 2016. The German translation of her book ‘Under charred skies’ has now been published in Germany under the title ‘Unter verbranntem Himmel’ by Eulenspiegel Verlag. She is the chair of the Socialist History Society and has organised joint poetry events for them at the Poetry Café. She is a trained child psychologist and has taught at the Institute of Education, London University, where she is now an associate researcher. Her Particular focus is now on women’s emancipation and antiquity. Twitter: @g4gaia.      Facebook.com/greta.sykes.      German Wikipedia: Greta Sykes.


The sharp truth

On the eastern sky the moon
And a smudge,
A smudge of a moon,
Sickle shaped smudge on a vast sky
Of gold, blue and yellow,
A blotch covered by cloud.
Like the truth,
It is there, but as a smudge.
It is there like the moon,
Sharp and unforgiving,
But smudged,
It will hold those for the deaths in Syria
Responsible,
Unforgiving to those who pursue the lies,
The blotches,
The smudge over the truth
About Syria,
Like the smudge over the moon,
Just a small cloud, but a blotch
All the same,
On the eastern sky,
In gold, blue and yellow:
A smudge of a cloud
Puts a blotch on the crescent moon,
Its sharp edge, like the truth
And it grows every day.

Since 1917

The Russians are coming,
On email,
On Facebook,
On tanks, on TV,
When will they arrive?

The Russians are coming,
In spy novels, fake news,
In Vodka bottles,
On T shirts and underpants,
On twitter, when will they arrive?

The Russians are coming,
Reds under the beds,
Hiding in book shelves,
On tube trains,
in galleries:
Shall we invite them in for tea?


Homage to London bus drivers

Like a ship,
softly swaying on the ocean,
from harbour to harbour,
The London bus
Rocks us gently
Along the path.
At night as much as during day.
The captain driver manages the waves
Of roads we pass and cross,
As other vehicles appear and
Storm of signs and signals
Come and go.

Invited into his/her boat
We embark taking our seats,
And looking outwards to the sights beyond,
While travelling safely, until we reach
The harbour of our destination,
When we disembark,
Saying ‘thank you driver’.


Fathomless sky

Fathomless sky,
Perhaps heaven,
Below tiny humans and other creatures
With a will to live, some caught in storms,
While the fishes watch.

Fathomless sky,
With a lust for disturbance,
Turbulence,
Circulation of winds and rain
From overheating oceans,
Perhaps hell.

Fathomless sky,
If you believe nature’s geometry,
Harmony,
Its logic and reasoning,
It could be heaven.


© Dr Greta Sykes