Released in Spring of 2005, The Echoes of a Whisper by Rhona F. Pienaar, is a 68-page book of approximately 51 poems.

Rhona is clearly a caring woman who writes about her roles in the family, as mother, wife and daughter. She shares her goals in life and her hope to encourage her children to reach their potential by delving into their Selves and releasing their talents with courage.

There were a number of lines throughout the book that certainly appealed to me as a poet and as a reader. These two quotes below will give you some idea as to what I mean.

Stuck in a corner

Not moving, not breathing

In a cage so slowly depleting,

I have created my own prison.

Just as a snake sheds its skin,

Can we learn and break our own conditions?

I truly loved the poem Growth on page 25 of this book. This piece questions what we are doing with our skills and the time that is given to us. This inspiring poem prompts readers with lines like:

Dare to dream that you are so much more

Will you add to the woes of the world

Convincing others that you are incapable

Dont you know weve been waiting for you?

If you dont use your gifts, how will I discover mine?

Her poetry attempts to show us how interconnected we are and how each of us holds a valuable key to better the world for those around us. Her vulnerability and tendency to rehash the past is clarified in the poem entitled Creating, when she says:

All that I am doing is weeding the ground,

Where no longer the past has a place

To grow and haunt and be thrown in my face

Because so many of us are influenced by those around us, one of the poems that hit truth the hardest was the last one, My Love, where the poet states:

When the opinions of others become your beliefs

And you surround yourself in other peoples truths

Youll get weaker inhaling the toxic that they exhale

Author: Rhona F. Pienaar

Publisher: Publish America

ISBN: 1-4137-6623-4

~ Book Reviewer: Lillian Brummet - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry. (http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)