WHISPERS OF THE SOUL

A volume of poetry explores a plethora of topics related to the evanescence of life, with a focus on finding happiness, fulfillment, and connectivity.  

Much of the power of this wisdom-filled collection comes from the selections that deal with Greer’s battle with breast cancer—and the network of women who supported her and helped her heal throughout. But that experience is part of a bigger thematic perspective that examines the author’s struggle to find and occupy her own space, both internally and externally. In “For Elizabeth,” Greer asks the question “Is it only women / who have to go to the far edges of the day / to find a little space? / Should it be this hard?” This question is raised again when, in “Why,” she wonders why a woman needs to wait for an invitation “to claim her space. / To claim her life.” In a sequence from “Reasonable Limits,” the author’s final revelation is glorious: “So what I long for is space, room to dance naked / with no unwanted gaze, time to sit alone / and breathe the silence. / This I have learned from cancer: / I am no longer willing / to be contained / by reasonable limits. / I want the whole house and more.” The idea of finding one’s space—and ultimately one’s self—is continued in “The New Year,” in which Greer luxuriates “in inner spaciousness” and, in the silence, hears “the whispers of the soul.” While some pieces don’t quite fit thematically, others are absolute powerhouses. For example, the last poem, “The Journey,” which offers some rules for a meaningful odyssey, is worth the price of the collection alone.

Deeply contemplative and inspiring poems that will surely resonate with readers ready to “risk life.”