Jogging with the Great Ray Charles

Kenneth Sherman s work has always displayed a vibrant lyricism, so it s no surprise that his powerful new collection contains a number of poems with musical motifs. In such pieces as ''Clarinet,'' ''Transistor Sister,'' and the book s titular poem, Sherman ponders our human transience while searching for ''a voice to stand time s test.'' Sherman also confronts health concerns in a language that is Shaker-plain. The book concludes with the sombre, compassionate, and truly remarkable seven-part ''Kingdom,'' a meditation on the plight of the dispossessed.