Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, Thomas Lux’s poetry often deals with life’s tragedies, but usually employs an ironic humor. He published numerous books of poetry including Split Horizon, which won the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Lux taught at Sarah Lawrence College.
More By This Poet
Ode to the Electric Fish that Eat Only the Tails of Other Electric Fish,
which regenerate their tails
and also eat only the tails of other electric eels,
presumably smaller, who, in turn, eat ...
Without consulting an ichthyologist — eels
are fish — I defer to biology’s genius.
I know little of their numbers
and habitat, other than they are river dwellers.
Guess which...
It's the Little Towns I Like
It’s the little towns I like
with their little mills making ratchets
and stanchions, elastic web,
spindles, you
name it. I like them in New England,
America, particularly-providing
bad jobs good enough to live...
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,
a...