Poet's Choice

Like President-elect Barack Obama, poet Thomas Lux comes from humble beginnings, born to a milkman and a Sears & Roebuck switchboard operator. In a time when the country faces so many challenges, Lux's deeply moral poems emphasize the work that we must do together. However unpretentiously one of his poems might start, it often builds to a strong emotional finish.

Tarantulas on the Lifebuoy

For some semitropical reason

when the rains fall

relentlessly they fall

into swimming pools, these otherwise

bright and scary

arachnids. They can swim

a little, but not for long

and they can't climb the ladder out.

They usually drown -- but

if you want their favor,

if you believe there is justice,