New Poet Laureate

Click on this New York Times article to read about Donald Hall, the new poet laureate of the United States.

Thunder (Press)

The sky this evening suffers in its strife;
it seems that broken nails scratch the rim
of that abandoned case that once held life,
as nature's shaking force pervades each limb.
Strange emptiness falls o'er the dark terrain
and as it thinks of death it hears no sound
but loses all perception in the rain,
which waits until it's welcome to fall down.
All ties are severed as the heavens break
and pour their torment onto Earth's hard stones
as mortal beings see their great mistakes
and passions rise, awakened, in lost tones.
The past glows faintly on the path ahead,
but, turning back, we leave it, soaked and dead.