Petals of Joy

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Petals of Joy

Category:	Poetry
Author:	Joyce Warden
Publisher:	Pen Presss
Price:	£5.99
ISBN:	1-905203-24-1
Pages:	124
Reviewed in issue:	3

The poetry in Petals of Joy has an unsophisticated and vulnerable quality. Some of the poems read like psalms, and others could be included in church sermons. But the poems that move away from praise and address social issues such as homelessness and drug abuse sound more patronising than informed, and the collection suffers from a lack of originality. The one poem that did appeal to me, in this otherwise quite ‘naive’ collection, was ‘Walk in the Light’, which personifies human traits with a jocular rhythm. Poetry of this level of devotion and religious praise will rarely find a receptive audience outside a church community, and poor proofreading has not lent any polish to this book’s contents. There is little that will appeal to the average poetry reader. However, this is obviously the work of a very religious woman, and Joyce Warden must be commended for having put such an extensive collection together. In conclusion, if you are devoutly pious, this collection will appeal to you, if not, don’t bother.

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