A Heart for Children: Inspirations for Parents and their Children

Beryl Baigent is a poet; her published collections include Absorbing the
Dark, Hiraeth: In Search of Celtic Origins, Triptych: Virgins, Victims,
Votives, and Mystic Animals.

This beautifully produced collection of traditional religious verse
expresses a philosophy of dealing with life’s crises through prayer
and devotion to traditional values. The author sets the tone of the
volume by noting in her introduction, “I have tried to share the
thoughts of my faith, our Heavenly Father and my dearest Friend, our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Some of the pieces are set to the rhythms of well-known hymns or
melodies. “When children’s eyes are smiling” could be mistaken for
additional verses to a popular Irish song, while “Children’s
prayer” echoes the hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth,” and “God
only is the maker” mirrors Cecil Frances Alexander’s “All Things
Bright and Beautiful.” Explicit or indirect allusion to the work of
another writer is a perfectly acceptable literary device, so long as the
original is properly credited. Disturbingly, the parable of the
stonemasons to which Powers alludes in her piece “Point of View” is
taken in its entirety and rewritten by this author as though it were her
original idea.

Although Powers’s sincerity is unquestionable, her verses are
religious rather than spiritual, didactic rather than compassionate, and
often clichéd and sexist. Perpetuating the philosophy of biological
determination, she writes, “[God] created little boys with adventurous
spirit and fun,” while “[a] new baby girl [is] for
Caring—Crying—Cuddling/Cooing.” Only die-hard traditionalists will
feel comfortable with such lines as “Woman was made from man’s side
/ To be equal and to always abide / Under his arm, as a bride, protected
/ from harm.”