Mudita*
Gerard Sarnat, United States
A few bad hours,
now rattled by
our tons of
little petty
junk stuff
this morning
gone wrong,
rose-colored
glass half-+
full helps
Ger observe
himself just
very lucky
most days
that seem
to feel sooo
fine — but
when not
your skin
is too thin
which helps
understand
how black
at times it
might be
for mourning
peeps never
know from
minute to
the next
if chronic
disabilities,
sex or drug
issues will act
up to ruin mood
as I try to put me
in another’s shoes.
But for just at least
today now let's party on
Larissa, Laurence, Rosa.
*Pali word for Buddhist concept of empathy
Gerard Sarnat’s a multiple Pushcart/Best of Net Award nominee. His work’s been widely published; including four collections; by Rattle, Brooklyn Review, Tokyo Poetry Journal, Gargoyle, New Delta Review, Buddhist Review, New York Times, Oberlin, Northwestern, Yale, Pomona, Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Penn, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Brown, North Dakota, McMaster, Maine, British Columbia/Toronto/Chicago and Virginia university presses. He’s a Harvard Medical School-trained physician, Stanford professor, healthcare CEO. Currently, he’s devoting energy and resources to dealing with climate justice, serving on Climate Action Now’s board. Gerry’s married since 1969, has three kids, seven grandsons — and looks forward to future granddaughters. gerardsarnat.com