On page after enigmatic page, Killarney Clary shows us her mastery of the prose poem in this spiritual biography that journeys across the natural landscape while plumbing the dizzying depths of the psyche. Potential Stranger reveals that in the public world we are all called upon to perform: as children, we are expected to find a place in the uniform; as entertainers, to play an exaggerated version of ourselves; and, as explorers, to rest content when we have reached our destination. Precise, prophetic, and spare, Clary reminds us that of all the potential strangers we may meet in our travels, people who forever "remain behind gestures and posture," the first and last of those is always the self.

Shadow of a Cloud but No Cloud, the latest collection from enigmatic prose poet Killarney Clary, is a book-length sequence of unnumbered, untitled poems, each evoking a clear moment in time. The details on which Clary chooses to focus suggest a narrative that will not resolve. The unnamed people with whom she interacts offer exchanges she is desperate to prolong, and in attempts to understand her place, she reaches beneath the fragile armor of those loved, especially those who can no longer answer her. This quietly haunting book, remarkable for its subtlety and delicacy, is Clary’s strongest, most engaging work to date and amply shows her to be a master of this lyric genre.